and shortly after the following letter signed “Tereus"[8] appeared in the ’Star’:—­“Concerning the occurrence of the Golden Oriole I cannot speak from my own personal knowledge, but I believe there can be no doubt that the bird has been occasionally seen here.  Its presence, however, must be much more rare than that of the Hoopoe, for a bird of such plumage as the Oriole would be more likely to attract even more attention than the comparatively sober-coloured Hoopoe, and if half so common as the latter would be sure to fall before the gun of the fowler.  There was a specimen of the female bird in the Museum of the Mechanics’ Institution, but I am not sure about its history, and I have some reason to suppose it was shot in Jersey.  Our venerable national poet, Mr. George Metivier, has many allusions to the Oriole in his early effusions, whether written in English, French, or our vernacular dialect.  It seems to have been an occasional visitor at St. George’s; but in Mr. Metivier’s early days the island was far more wooded than it is at present, and it is possible that the wholesale destruction of hedgerow elms and the grubbing-up of so many orchards in order to employ the ground more profitably in the culture of early potatoes and brocoli, by which the island has lost much of its picturesque beauty, may have had the effect of deterring some of the occasional visitors from alighting here in their periodical migrations.”  Signed “Tereus.”

A short time after the appearance of this letter in the ‘Star’ on the 16th of May, 1878, Mr. MacCulloch himself wrote to me on the subject and said:—­“I had yesterday a very satisfactory interview with Mr. George Metivier.  He is now in his 88th or 89th year.  He told me he was about thirteen when he went to reside with his relations, the Guilles, at St. George.  There was then a great deal of old timber about the place and a long avenue of oaks, besides three large cherry orchards.  One day he was startled by the sight of a male Oriole.  He had never seen the bird before.  Whether it was that one that was killed or another in a subsequent year I don’t know, but he declares that for several years afterwards they were seen in the oak trees and among the cherries, and that he has not the least doubt but that they bred there.  One day an old French gentleman of the name of De l’Huiller from the South of France, an emigrant, noticed the birds and made the remark—­’Ah! vous avez des loriots ici; nous en avons beaucoup chez nous, ils sont grands gobeurs de cerises.’  It would appear from this that cherries are a favourite food with this bird, and the presence of cherry orchards would account for their settling down at St. George.  I believe they are said to be very shy, and the absence of wood would account for their not being seen in the present day.”