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1773 J. R. Forster Jrnl. 24 May in ‘Resolution’ Jrnl. (1982) ii. 285 We saw great flocks of Curlews or Oyster-catchers, whom the people on board the Adventure called Parsons.

1806 Guide to Watering Places 176 The cormorant, called by the sailors ‘the Isle of Wight Parson’.

1827 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 312 The chase we had with the shag, alias cormorant, alias ‘parson’.

1853 W. D. Cooper Gloss. Provincialisms Sussex (ed. 2) 85 Parson, the Hake; so called from the black streak on its back.

1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) Parson, a large black beetle; a cockroach.

1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Parson,..a black rabbit... A farmer when rabbiting cried out to me..there's a parson! shoot thick for God's sake.

1923 R. Kipling Land & Sea Tales 189 ‘Look, there's the Parson!’ He pointed at a bold, black rabbit sitting half-way up the butt.

1941 A. Withington Mine Eyes have Seen 165 The puffins (called ‘parsons’) with their spectacled eyes, white shirt bosoms, and red bills, sat on the cliffs dictating and chattering to their kind.

1976 Shooting Times 16 Dec. 31/1 The recent correspondence..about wild black rabbits has been read with more than just a passing interest. I have always known them as ‘parson’ rabbits.

2002 Grimsby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 9 Apr. (Features) 11 The word ‘parson’ means not only a minister of religion, but also a black lamb. A black rabbit is also called a parson, and it was considered very bad luck to shoot one.