Birds of Guernsey (1879) / And the Neighbouring Islands: Alderney, Sark, Jethou, Herm; Being a Small Contribution to the Ornitholony of the Channel Islands

by Cecil Smith

75. JACKDAW. Corvus monedula, Linnaeus. French, "Choucas," "Choucas gris."—I am quite aware that many Guernsey people will tell you that there are no Jackdaws in Guernsey, but that their place is entirely taken by Choughs. Mr. MacCulloch seems to be nearly of this opinion, as he writes me—"I suppose you are right in saying there are a few Jackdaws in Guernsey, but I do not remember ever to have seen one here;" and he adds—"I believe they are common in Alderney," which is certainly the case; as I said above, they have almost, if not quite, supplanted the Choughs there. There are, however, certainly a few Jackdaws in Guernsey, as I have seen them there on several occasions, but I cannot say that any breed there, and I think they are only occasional wanderers from the other Islands, Sark, Jethou, and Herm, where they do breed. Mr. Gallienne's note to Professor Ansted's list seems to agree very much with this, as he says—"The Jackdaw, which is a regular visitor to Alderney, is rarely seen in Guernsey." It is now, however, resident in Alderney, as well as in Sark, Jethou, and Herm.

It is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark, nothing being said about Alderney and the other Islands in spite of Mr. Gallienne's note. There is no specimen at present in the Museum.

76. RAVEN. Corvus corax, Linnaeus. French, "Corbeau," "Corbeau noir."—The Raven can now only be looked upon as an occasional straggler. I do not think it breeds at present in any of the Islands, as I have not seen it anywhere about in the breeding-season since 1866, when I saw a pair near the cliffs on the south-end of the Island in June; but as the Raven is a very early breeder, these may have only been wanderers. It is probably getting scarcer in Guernsey, as I have not seen any there since; and the last note I have of Ravens being seen in the Island is in a letter from Mr. Couch, who wrote me word that two Ravens had been seen and shot at several times, but not obtained, in November, 1873. I have not seen a Raven in any of the other Islands, and do not know of one having occurred there.

Professor Ansted includes it in his list, and marks it as only occurring in Guernsey. There is no specimen at present in the Museum.

77. CROW. Corvus corone, Linnaeus. French, "Corneille noire."—The Crow is pretty common, and breeds in most of the Islands, and probably at times commits considerable depredations amongst the eggs and young of the Gulls and Shags—at all events it is by no means a welcome visitor to the breeding stations of the Gulls, as in this summer (1878) I saw four Crows about a small gullery near Petit Bo Bay, one of which flew over the side of the cliff to have a look at the Gulls' eggs, probably with ulterior intentions in regard to the eggs; but one of the Gulls saw him, and immediately flew at him and knocked him over: what the end of the fight was I could not tell, but probably the Crow got the worst of it, as several other Gulls went off to join their companion as soon as they heard the row; and the Crows trespassed no more on the domain of the Gulls—at least whilst I was there, which was some time.

Professor Ansted includes the Crow in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey and Sark. There is no specimen in the Museum.

78. HOODED CROW. Corvus cornix, Linnaeus. French, "Corbeau mantele," "Corneille mantelée."—The Hooded Crow can only be considered an occasional autumnal and winter visitant. I have never seen it myself in the Islands, though many of my visits to Guernsey have been in the autumn. Mr. Couch, however, reports a small flock of Hooded Crows being in Guernsey in November, 1873, one of which was obtained. Mr. MacCulloch writes me word that the Hooded Crow is a very rare visitant, and only, as far as he knows, in very cold weather; and he adds—"It is strange that we should see it so rarely, as it is very common about St. Maloes." Colonel l'Estrange, however, informed me that one remained in Sark all last summer—that of 1877—and paired with a common Crow,[^[13]] but we could see nothing of the couple this year. I believe it is not at all uncommon for these birds to pair in Scotland and other places where both species are numerous in the breeding-season, but this is the only instance I have heard of in the Channel Islands—in fact, it is the only time I have heard of the Hooded Crow remaining on till the summer.

The Hooded Crow is included in Professor Ansted's list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey and Sark; and there are two specimens in the Museum.

79. ROOK. Corvus frugilegus, Linnaeus. French, "Freux", "Corbeau Freux."—I have never seen the Rook in the Islands myself, even as a stranger, but Mr. Gallienne in his notes to Professor Ansted's list, says, speaking of Guernsey, "The Rook has tried two or three times to colonise, but in vain, having been destroyed or frightened away." Mr. MacCulloch also writes me word much to the same effect, as he says "I have known Rooks occasionally attempt to build here (Guernsey), but they are invariably disturbed by boys and guns, and driven off. They sometimes arrive here in large flocks in severe winters."

The Rook is mentioned in Professor Ansted's list as occurring in Guernsey only, and there are two specimens in the Museum, both probably Guernsey killed.