202 REPORTS. 



"neither does Professor Ansted mention it in his list." This 

 welcome acquisition to our list was, I may add, shot by a Mr. Snell 

 from whom it was acquired for the Guille-Alles Museum and where 

 it may now be seen. 



Blackstart. — Mr. R. P. Spencer saw a Blackstart at Alderney (on the 

 Blayes) on May 5th, but I have not heard of any having been seen here. 



Moorhen. — In recent years this report has included notes on the Moorhen. 

 Cecil Smith wrote in 1879 that he had never seen the bird in Guernsey 

 alive and considered it a migrant only. A few years ago T was told there 

 were some at Saumarez Park, importations my informant said, and for 

 several seasons one wintered regularly at Sausmarez Manor, St. Martin's. 

 This latter bird, however, was not seen there last winter, nor has it so far 

 (December 7th) turned up this year. A twelvemonth ago one was brought 

 alive to the Library for identification, and Dr. Creswell writing to me 

 on the subject said that to his certain knowledge the Moorhen was a 

 resident and a breeder in Guernsey. To this I may add that in a 

 note from the Doctor, dated June 2!lst, 1915, he said : " Apropos of my 

 remarks a while ago on the Moorhen as a resident in Guernsey, I have an 

 egg of this bird taken two or three weeks ago from a site in the northern 

 district." And onl) a short time back Dr. Bullar, of 1' Islet, wrote me : 

 "It may possibly interest you to know that I reared some Moorhens 

 from the egg and have them on my quarry pond quite tame. Attracted 

 perhaps by them came a Little Grebe. I think we saw it first in the 

 end of August." Evidence in support of the belief that the Moorhen is 

 becoming a resident here is certainly increasing. 



Basil T. Rowswell, 

 Hon. Sec. Ornithological Section. 



Report of the Folklore Section, 1015. 



SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF GUERNSEY FOLKLORE. 



All the Members who take an interest in Guernsey 

 Folklore, and who have paid any attention to its investigation, 

 must have been struck with the very large proportion of 

 witchcraft legends that enter into its composition — in fact 

 witchcraft or demonology, in one form or other, seems to 

 constitute by far the greater part of the local popular beliefs, 

 and one certainly comes across stories — told in perfect good 

 faith by unimpeachable narrators — which are quite staggering 

 in their details and inferences. I was told of one very 

 curious incident, only the other day, which will illustrate 

 what I mean : — 



Two old ladies, sisters, lived together in a cottage in a 

 certain part of this Island, while in another cottage, a little 

 distance away, lived a second family. The inmates of the 

 two cottages were friends. One season they jointly fed a pig 

 which was located in a stye at the first-named cottage. In 

 process of time this pig grew fat, was duly killed, and its 



