99.  COMMON COOT. Fulica atra, Linnaeus.  French, “Foulque,” “Foulque macroule.”—­In spite of Mr. De Putron’s statement that the Coot bred in the Braye Pond in the summer of 1876, I can scarcely look upon it in the light of anything but an occasional and never numerous autumnal visitant; and its breeding in the Braye Pond that year must have been quite exceptional.  In the autumn it occurs both in the Braye Pond and on the coast in the more sheltered parts.  I have the skin of one killed in the Braye Pond in November, 1876, which might have been one of those bred there that year.

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

100.  LITTLE BUSTARD. Otis tetrax, Linnaeus.  French, “Outarde canepetiere,” “Poule de Carthage.”—­The Little Bustard can only be considered a very rare occasional visitant to the Channel Islands, and very few instances of its occurrence have come under my notice.  The first was mentioned to me by Mr. MacCulloch, who wrote me word that a Little Bustard was killed in Guernsey in 1865, but unfortunately he gives no information as to the time of the year.  Another was shot by a farmer in Guernsey early in March, 1866, and was recorded by myself in the ‘Zoologist’ for that year.  Mr. Couch also recorded one in the ‘Zoologist’ for 1875, “as having been shot at the back of St. Andrew’s (very near the place where one was shot fifteen years ago) on the 20th of November, 1874.”  This bird is now in the possession of Mr. Le Mottee, at whose house I saw it, and was informed that it had been shot at a place called the Eperons, in the parish of St. Andrew’s, on the date above mentioned.  These are all the instances of the occurrence of the Little Bustard in the Channel Islands that I have been able to gain any intelligence of, but they are sufficient to show that although by no means a common visitant, it does occasionally occur on both spring and autumn migration.

It is not included in Professor Ansted’s list.  There is, however, a specimen in the Museum, which I was told, when I saw it in 1866, had been killed the previous year, but there is no date of the month, and I should think, from the state of plumage, it was an autumn-killed specimen:  it is still in the Museum, as I saw it there again this year, 1878.  This is probably the bird mentioned by Mr. MacCulloch as killed in 1865, and also very likely the one spoken of by Mr. Couch, in 1875, as having been killed in St. Andrew’s fifteen years ago; but there seems to have been some mistake as to Mr. Couch’s date for this one, as, had it been killed so long ago as 1860, it would in all probability have been included in Professor Ansted’s list, and mentioned by Mr. Gallienne in his remarks on some of the birds included in the list.