BIRDS Hon. Grantley Berkeley, who in turn pre- sented it to Mr. Hart for his museum at Christchurch, where I have seen it. Mr. M. J. Nicoll informs me that two immatures were shot at Pett on October i6 and 25, 1 901. There is a fine specimen of this heron in the late Mr. Borrer's house, and in a collec- tion so strictly British and so carefully kept it is somewhat remarkable to find no label at- tached or reference to it in his book. 156. Night-Heron. Nyctico)-nx griseus {Linn.) Two examples of the night heron are re- corded as having occurred in Sussex — one at Alfriston, November, 1839 (Borrer), and another at Cuckmere Haven, 1851 (Knox). 157. Little Bittern. Jrdetta minuta (Linn.) A rare summer visitor. Of recent occur- rences one was obtained at Hove, September, 1894, and is now in the Booth Museum. Another, an adult female, which I examined in the flesh, was found dead near Billingshurst May 6, 1 90 1. I also have two in my collec- tion that were obtained near Petworth in the spring of 1889. 158. Common Bittern. Botaurus stel/aris (Linn.) A few bitterns still come to us regularly every winter. Formerly it used to breed in some numbers in the great marsh known as the Wildbrook that existed near Amberley and is now drained. 159. American Bittern. Botaurus lentigimsus (Montagu). Has twice occurred in the county. One of these, a fine adult, was killed on November 30, 1879, in the Amberley Wildbrook, and is now preserved in the collection of the late Mr. William Borrer. 160. White Stork. Ciconia alba, Bechstein. A rare visitor, which has occurred on several occasions in spring and autumn. The latest capture is that of an adult male taken on Broadwater Down, August, 1899. 161. Glossy Ibis. Plegadis falcinellm (Linn.) There is a fine adult specimen of the glossy ibis in the late Mr. Borrer's collection which was shot at Piddinghoe near Newhaven on May 25, 1850. The species is only a rare straggler from south-eastern Europe and has occurred in the county but three times. 162. Spoonbill. Plataka leucorodia, Linn. Mr. J. E. Harting has shown that the spoonbill formerly nested in Sussex at Eskden near Goodwood ; now it is only a rare spring and autumn visitor, having occurred within the county on about twenty occasions. 163. Grey Lag-Goose. Amer cinereus^Vltycr. A rare winter visitor. 164. White-fronted Goose. Anser alhifrom (Scopoli). With the brent the most common of the wild geese that visit the Channel during the winter. Within the memory of man this goose was quite common in winter time on the marshes of Pevensey Level. 165. Bean - Goose. Anser segetum (J. F. Gmelin). An irregular winter visitor, sometimes passing in big flocks. 166. Pink-footed Goose. Anser brachyrhyn- chus, Baillon. Although this goose is considered very rare within the county, a fact to a certain extent borne out by there being no Sussex specimens in the late Mr. Borrer's collection, yet I can- not believe that it does not visit us with the big packs of passing bean-geese and grey lags. In Scotland, where I have had a close ac- quaintance for many years with all the fore- going species of wild geese, I have invariably found that the pink-foot is by far the com- monest, and whilst keeping for the most part in flocks of their own kind they unite for safety in one great flock with both grey lags and bean-geese. When therefore the two last species move south through stress of weather or other causes it is more than likely that a certain number of the pink-foots go with them. Certainly this is the case in Norfolk, where the present species is common through- out the winter, so that it is more likely that the species has been overlooked than that it is of uncommon rarity. 167. Barnacle - Goose. Bernic/a leucopsis (Bechstein). A rare winter straggler. 168. Brent Goose. Bernlcla brenta (Pallas). The ' black ' goose is certainly the com- monest of the genus that visits us in winter, sometimes appearing in considerable packs where the Zostera marina, their favourite food, grows. It is however not nearly so abundant as formerly. On the south coast of England the ' black ' form of this goose is practically the only form, whereas in the north of Scot- land when out shooting with the big gun I have generally killed equal proportions of the
- black ' and the ' white * form. The dark
birds are all supposed to come from the north- 287
