BYGONE BIRDING (12): 'A BIRD THE LIKE OF WHICH HE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE'

From The Zoologist, 1899

OCCURRENCE OF THE WALLCREEPER IN SUSSEX


Mr. William Mitchell, of The Look-out, Winchelsea, invited me, while on a visit to that town on July 31, to inspect a bird in his possession "the like of which he had never seen before." 

His description of the bird's appearance as it climbed about a ruin, and of the crimson and white on its wings, rendered identification almost certain even before seeing the specimen, and, on reaching the house, I at once saw that the "strange bird" was an example in breeding plumage of the Wallcreeper.

His attention was called to it by some men who had noticed its bright colours, and he shot it near the ruin of the Greyfriars' Chapel, on the property of Major Stileman. 

A plate of this picturesque ruin, with the adjoining house of its owner, may be seen in the late W. W. Cooper's History of Winchelsea, facing page 149. 

The lower picture shows the lawn over which the bird was flying when shot just after it had left the ruin to the right. 

It was set up (ie stuffed and mounted) by Gasson of Rye. 

It is unfortunate that no note was made of the date of the occurrence, but Mr. Mitchell feels sure it was in late spring about ten years ago, ie about 1886. 

This is the third recorded occurrence of the Wallcreeper in Britain and is an addition to the Sussex avifauna. 

The specimen is now in my possession, and it will be exhibited at a meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club. 

W. Ruskin Butterfield
St. Leonards-on-Sea
Sussex