may-bird

Updated: May 12, 2025

Purdy, one of the Guernsey boatmen, who is pretty well up in the sea and shore birds, told me the Whimbrel occurred commonly in May, but not on the autumn migration. He added that it was known there as the "May-bird," and was very good to eat, and much easier to shoot than a Curlew, in which he is quite right.

Cecil Smith - Birds of Guernsey (1879) : And the Neighbouring Islands: Alderney, Sark, Jethou, Herm; Being a Small Contribution to the Ornitholony of the Channel Islands