Page:The New Forest - its history and its scenery.djvu/339

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III.]
The Rarer Visitors and Stragglers.

Whitefronted Goose. (Anser albifrons, Bechst.)

Bernacle Goose. (Anser leucopsis, Bechst.) From Mr. Hart I learn that a pair were killed some years ago between Christchurch and Barton.

Ægyptian Goose. (Anser Ægyptiacus, Jenyns) From Mr. Rake I learn that a specimen was killed on the Avon, near Bicton Mill, February, 1855.

Bewick's Swan. (Cygnus minor, Keys and Bl.)

Shoveller. (Anas clypeata, Lin.) Mr. Rake, in his manuscript notes, which he so kindly put in my hands, mentions that this and the gadwall and Bewick's swan, were killed on the Avon during the hard winter of 1855.

Gadwall. (Anas strepera, Lin.)

Garganey. (Anas querquedula, Lin.)

Eider Duck. (Anas mollissima, Lin.)

Velvet Scoter. (Anas fusca, Lin.) Sometimes shot by the Mudeford fishermen, but always outside the bar of the harbour.

Long-tailed Duck. (Anas glacialis, Lin.)

Golden Eye. (Anas clangula, Lin.)

Smew. (Mergus albellus, Lin.) Seen, like the two previous, during hard winters on the Avon. Mr. Rake notes that one was killed at Breamore, Nov., 1855; and Mr. Hart writes that he once saw a person kill two at one shot in Christchurch Harbour.

Goosander. (Mergus merganser, Lin.) Rather rare. Mr. Rake, however, informs me that one male and two or three females were killed near Fordingbridge in the winter of 1855.

Red-necked Grebe. (Podiceps ruficollis, Lath.) Rather rare.

Sclavonian Gbeue. (Podiceps cornutus, Lath.) Very rare. Mr. Hart has never known an instance of one being killed, though he has received a specimen or two from the Dorsetshire coast.

Eared Grebe. (Podiceps auritus, Lath.) Rather rare, but occasionally killed by the Mudeford fishermen.

Black-throated Diver (Colymbus arcticus, Lin.) Occurs pretty plentifully during some winters along the coast.

Little Auk. (Uria alle, Tem.) Found sometimes along the coast after a heavy storm.

Caspian Tern. (Sterna Caspia, Pall.) On the authority of Mr. Hart one was shot, about ten years ago, in Christchurch Harbour.

Common Tern. (Sterna hirundo, Lin.) This, with the next, is sometimes, after a heavy gale, picked up in an exhausted state. I saw one which had been thus caught near Fordingbridge in September, 1861.

Artic Tern. (Sterna arctica, Flem.)

Lesser Tern. (Sterna minuta, Lin.) Seen during a hard winter.

Black Tern. (Sterna nigra, Briss.) A pair were, not long ago, shot by Mr. Charles Reeks, near the Old Bridge, Christchurch.

Little Gull. (Larus minutus, Pall.) Mr. Rake informs me that a pair of these rare birds were killed near Breamore, in November, 1855.

Glaucous Gull. (Larus glaucus, Brün.) A solitary specimen has, I believe, once been shot near Christchurch, by the Hon. Grantley Berkeley, in whose collection it is.

Common Skua. (Lestris catarractes, Ill.) Occasionally killed flying round Christchurch Head.

Fork-tailed Petrel. (Thalassidroma Leachii, Tem.) Mr. Rake informs me that a specimen was picked up dead, near Fordingbridge, November, 1859.

Stormy Petrel. (Thalassidroma pelagica, Vigors.) Frequently picked up dead, or exhausted, along the coast, after severe weather, with the wind blowing from the west.

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