Birds of Guernsey (1879): And the Neighbouring Islands: Alderney, Sark, Jethou, Herm; Being a Small Contribution to the Ornitholony of the Channel IslandsSmith, Cecil
History
Birds of Guernsey (1879): And the Neighbouring Islands: Alderney, Sark, Jethou, Herm; Being a Small Contribution to the Ornitholony of the Channel Islands
Smith, Cecil
Birds -- Channel Islands
115. BARTAILED GODWIT. _Limosa lapponica_, Linnaeus. French, "Barge
rousse."--The Bar-tailed Godwit is a regular and sometimes rather
numerous spring and autumn visitant. In May, 1876, a considerable number
of these birds seem to have rested on the little Island of Herm, where
the keeper shot three of them; two of these are now in my possession,
and are very interesting, as though all shot at the same time--I believe
on the same day--they are in various stages of plumage, the most
advanced being in thorough breeding-plumage, and the other not nearly so
far advanced; and the third, which I saw but have not got, was not so
far advanced as either of the others. In the two which I have the change
of colour in the feathers, without moult, may be seen in the most
interesting manner, especially in the least advanced, as many of the
feathers are still parti-coloured, the colouring matter not having
spread over the whole feather; in the most advanced, however, nearly all
the feathers were fully coloured with the red of the breeding-plumage.
This red plumage remains till the autumn, when it is replaced, after the
moult, by the more sombre and less handsome grey of the winter plumage.
Though the Bar-tailed Godwit goes far north to breed, not breeding much
nearer than Lapland and the north of Norway and Sweden, both old and
young soon show themselves again in the Channel Islands on their return
journey, as I shot a young bird of the year in Herm the last week in
August. Most of the autumn arrivals, however, soon pass on to more
southern winter quarters, only a few remaining very late, perhaps quite
through the winter, as I have one shot in Guernsey as late as the 14th
of December; this one, I need hardly say, is in full winter plumage, and
of course presents a most striking difference to the one shot in Herm in
May.
The Bar-tailed Godwit is included in Professor Ansted's list, but only
marked as occurring in Guernsey. It is, however, as I have shown,
perhaps more common in Herm, and it also occurs in Alderney. There is a
series of these in the Museum in change and breeding-plumage.
The Blacktailed Godwit is also included in Professor Ansted's list, but
I have never seen the bird in the Islands or been able to glean any
information concerning it, and there is no specimen in the Museum.
116. GREENSHANK. _Totanus canescens_, Gmelin. French, "Chevalier gris,"
"Chevalier aboyeur."--The Greenshank can only be considered a rare
occasional visitant. I have never shot or seen it myself in the Islands,
but Miss C.B. Carey records one in the 'Zoologist' for 1872 as having
been shot on the 2nd of October of that year, and brought to Mr.
Couch's, at whose shop she saw it.
The Greenshank is included in Professor Ansted's list, but there is no
letter to note which of the Islands it has occurred in. There is no
specimen in the Museum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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