Chapter XVII: Part 17

In rough weather they repair to sheltered bays, ascend estuaries, or follow the course of a river until they have advanced far inland. They are harbingers of summer quite as much as the Swallow itself, coming to us in May and leaving in September for some warmer coast. They usually breed on flat shores, laying two or three eggs on the ground, in marshes, or on sandy shingle. The eggs in my collection were procured on the coast of Norfolk, but I have seen the birds themselves in the greatest numbers in Belfast Lough and in Loch Crinan. They have bred as far north as Sutherland.

THE LITTLE (OR LESSER) TERN
STERNA MINUTA

Bill orange, with a black tip; feet orange; forehead, and a
streak above the eye, white; crown black; upper parts
pearl-grey; under, white; tail much forked, shorter than the
wings. _Young birds_ have the head brownish, with darker
streaks; upper plumage yellowish white and dusky; bill pale
yellow, with a dark tip; legs dull yellow. Length eight and a
half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted and speckled with grey
and brown.

On the sandy and marshy shores of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern is a bird of common occurrence in summer, either single, or in small parties of three or four. Not unfrequently, as the sea-side visitor is sauntering about on the sands, one of these birds seems to take offence at its dominion being invaded. With repeated harsh cries it flies round and round the intruder, coming quite close enough to allow its black head and yellow beak to be distinguished. Its flight is swift, something like that of a Swallow, but more laboured, and not so rapid. If fired at, it takes little notice of the noise; and, knowing nothing of the danger, continues its screams[51] and circling till its pertinacity becomes annoying. When feeding it presents a far pleasanter appearance. Then, altogether heedless of intrusion, it skims along the surface of the drains in the marshes, profiting by its length of wing and facility of wheeling, to capture flying insects. At least, if this be not its object, I can in no other way account for the peculiar character of its flight. At other times, either alone or in company with a few other individuals of the same species, it is seen flying slowly along, some fifteen or twenty feet above the surface of a shallow tidal pool, or pond, in a salt marsh. Suddenly it arrests its onward progress, soars like a Kestrel for a second or two, with its beak pointed downwards. It has descried a shrimp, or small fish, and this is its way of taking aim. Employing the mechanism with which its Creator has provided it, it throws out of gear its apparatus of feathers and air-tubes, and falls like a plummet into the water, with a splash which sends circle after circle to the shore; and, in an instant, having captured and swallowed its petty booty, returns to its aërial watch-post. A social little party of three or four birds, who have thus taken possession of a pond, will remain fishing as long as the tide is high enough to keep it full. They take little notice of passengers; and if startled by the report of a gun, remove to a short distance only, and there resume their occupation. Sometimes they may be seen floating about in the open sea, resting their wings, perhaps, after a long flight, or simply idling, certainly not fishing; for although they plunge from a height, with great ease and elegance, diving proper is not one of their accomplishments.

To the stranger who visits the coast of Norfolk, the Lesser Tern will, perhaps, be pointed out under the name of 'Sea Swallow', or, more probably, as a 'Shrimp Catcher'. Either of these names is appropriate. Its mode of progress through the air is more like a Swallow's than that of the Common Tern, and in size it does not so very much exceed the Swift as to make the comparison outrageous. A shrimp it can undoubtedly catch; and it exercises its vocation in shallow water, such as shrimps alone inhabit or small fish no larger than shrimps.

Like the other Terns it is migratory, repairing year after year to low flat shores on various parts of the coast, arriving in May, and departing in September for some climate subject to no cold severe enough to banish small marine animals to deep water. The Lesser Tern makes no nest, but lays its eggs, generally two, among the shingle.

[51] I have been beset in this manner by a Lesser Tern, so far
on in the summer that I could not attribute its actions to
any anxiety about either eggs or young. I am inclined to
think it is, on such occasions, taught by its instinct to
accompany a traveller for the sake of the insects disturbed
by his movements. During the summer months, the shingle, on
a sunny beach, is haunted by myriads of sluggish flies,
which rarely take wing unless thus disturbed. That the
Chimney Swallow often accompanies the traveller for this
object, I have no doubt; as I have seen them fly to and fro
before me, darting in among the swarming flies, and so intent
in their chase, as to pass within a few yards of my feet
every time they crossed my path.

SUB-FAMILY LARINÆ

THE LITTLE GULL
LARUS MINUTUS

_Summer_--head and neck black; lower part of the neck, tail,
all the under plumage, white; upper plumage pale ash-grey;
primaries white at the end; bill reddish brown; irides dark;
legs vermilion. _Winter_--forehead, front and sides of the neck
white; nape and cheeks white, streaked with greyish black.
Length eleven inches.

This, the smallest of the Gulls, comes sometimes in numbers to the British coast. It is said to be remarkably active and graceful in its movements through the air, and to associate with Terns. Its food consists of marine insects and small fish. Its breeding-place and eggs are unknown. As a rule it leaves us in September or early in October.

THE BROWN-HEADED GULL
LARUS RIDIBUNDUS

_Summer_--head and upper part of the neck deep brown; lower
part of the neck and all the under plumage white, slightly
tinged with rose; upper plumage bluish ash; primaries white,
edged with ash, and broadly tipped with black; irides brown;
bill and feet red, with a purple tinge. In _winter_ the head
and neck are white; bill and feet bright vermilion. In _young
birds_ the hood is pale brown; the upper plumage dark brown,
mottled at the edges of the feathers with yellowish; bill livid
at the base, the tip black; feet yellowish. Length seventeen
inches. Eggs olive, spotted with brown and dusky.

Black-headed, Blackcap, Brown-headed, Red-legged, and Pewit, are all common distinctive names of this Gull, to which may be added that of Laughing Gull. The latter name is, indeed, often given to the next species, a rare bird, and might with equal propriety be applied to several other species, whose harsh cry resembles a laugh. The systematic name, _ridibundus_, which has the same meaning, is by general consent confined to this. The reader, therefore, must bear in mind that though the term _ridibundus_ will bear no translation but 'laughing', the name of the Laughing Gull is _Larus atricapilla_, which can mean only 'Black-headed Gull'; a paradoxical statement, perhaps, but one which it is necessary to make, or the young student will probably fall into error.

Brown-headed Gull is the most appropriate of all the above names, at least in summer, for at this period both male and female are best distinguished by the deep brown colour of the head and upper part of the neck.

This is one of the most frequent of the Gulls, to be sought for in the breeding season not on the rocky shore among cliffs, but on low flat salt marshes on the coast and in fresh-water marshes far inland. Early in spring large numbers of Brown-headed Gulls repair to their traditional breeding-grounds and wander over the adjoining country in search of food, which consists of worms and grubs. From the assiduity with which they resort to arable land and follow the plough, they have been called Sea Crows. In April and May they make their simple preparations for laying their eggs by trampling down the broken tops of reeds and sedges, and so forming a slight concavity. The number of eggs in each nest is generally three, and as a large number of birds often resort to the same spot, the collecting of these eggs becomes an occupation of importance. By some persons they are considered a delicacy, and, with the eggs of the Redshank, are substituted for Plovers' eggs; but to a fastidious palate they are not acceptable, and far inferior to an egg from the poultry yard. Willughby describes a colony of Blackcaps on a small island in a marsh or fish pond, in the county of Stafford, distant at least thirty miles from the sea. He says that when the young birds had attained their full size, it was the custom to drive them from the island into nets disposed along the shore of the lake. The captured birds were fattened on meat and garbage, and sold for about fourpence or fivepence each (a goodly price in those days, 1676). The average number captured every year was 1200, returning to the proprietor an income of about £15. In _The Catalogue of Norfolk and Suffolk Birds_, it is stated that precisely the same sum is paid for the privilege of collecting the eggs from Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk. Towards the end of July, when the young are fully fledged, all the birds, old and young, repair to the sea, and scatter themselves in small flocks to all parts of the coast, preferring a low sandy shore, or the mouth of a tidal river, as the Thames and the Clyde, where they are of common occurrence. They also accompany shoals of herrings and other small fish, often congregating with other species in countless numbers.

Before winter the distinctive character afforded by the brown plumage of the head and neck has entirely disappeared. These parts are now of a pure white, and the red legs afford the best distinguishing feature. Persons residing on the coast, who are familiarly acquainted with the habits of the bird, but are unaware of the periodical change in its colour, consider the two forms of the bird as distinct species. Thus I have received from a marsh on the coast of Norfolk the eggs of the 'Black-headed Gull', and have had the same bird pointed out to me in winter as the 'Red-legged Pigeon-Mow' (Mew). One flock of about thirty thus pointed out to me presented a very pretty sight. They had detected either a shoal of small fishes, or a collection of dead animal matter floating among the breakers, and were feeding with singular activity.

THE COMMON GULL
LARUS CÁNUS

In _spring_ the head and neck of this species are white and the
mantle is a pale grey, a little darker in _summer_, the head,
tail and under parts white; primaries comparatively long, and
the three outer pairs dull black on the lower portions, with
large white 'mirrors' near the tips in mature birds--in the
rest the predominant tone is a pale grey, the black only
forming a bar, and all but the first primary broadly tipped
with white; bill a rich yellow towards the point; legs and feet
greenish yellow in _summer_, darker in _winter_. In _winter_
the head and neck are streaked and spotted with ash-brown.
Length eighteen inches.

This is a species resident in Great Britain, but it is not known to breed south of the Solway. It nests, however, in the west of Ireland; grassy sides and islands of lochs or slopes that face the sea, not far often above high-water, are its favourite resorts, where it breeds in colonies, the nest of sea-weeds, heather and dry grass being fairly large. In it will be, as a rule, three eggs, an olive-brown, spotted and streaked with a blackish tone; but pale blue, light green and straw-coloured varieties are found often. This Gull is the first to seek the shore on the approach of 'coarse' weather; and it may often be studied in the fields as it picks up grubs among the furrows in the company of Rooks, or by the town-tied Cockney, from his own standpoint of Westminster Bridge.

The 'Blue Maa', as this species is called in the north, breeds in abundance on the Scottish coasts as well as the moors of the fresh-water lochs, including the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. The Black-headed Gull is generally the Common Gull of the peasantry in Ireland, but the underside of the wing in the young of the Common Gull is mottled with brown, whereas it is greyish-white in the Black-headed species.

Gulls are, moreover, of material service, for they perform for the surface of the sea the same office which crustaceous animals do for its depths. Most of their time is spent in either flying or swimming about (they are no divers) in quest of food, which is of that nature that, if suffered to accumulate, more than one of our senses would be offended. All animal matter which, when life is extinct, rises to the surface, it is their especial province to clear away. To perform this necessary work, they have need of a quick eye and a voracious appetite. That they have the former in an eminent degree, any one may convince himself who, when taking a sea voyage, sees the vessel followed, as he often will, by a flock of Gulls. Let him fling overboard, into the foaming track of the ship, where his own eye can distinguish nothing, ever so small a portion of bread or other kind of food. That some one individual at least among the flock will have seen it fall and be able to descry it is certain; now, probably, a general scramble will ensue, and the prize will be secured by the swiftest. Having tried this several times with the same result, let him throw over, instead of meat or bread, a bit of wood. Not a bird will come near even to examine it. I have often tried this experiment, and have met with but one result. To prove that the Gull is capable of consuming a large quantity of food, as well as quick-sighted, a single anecdote will suffice:--"A man who was shooting on the banks of the river Yare, seeing something, which had the appearance of an eel half-swallowed, hanging from the mouth of a Gull which was flying overhead, fired at the bird, and on taking it up, found, not an eel, but--five tallow candles attached to a piece of thread, to the other end of which was fastened a sixth, the latter having been _almost entirely swallowed_. The candles were about twelve inches in length, with cotton wicks, such as are used on board the fishing boats, from the deck of which he had probably taken them". The Gull, then, is not choice in its diet; it is, in fact, omnivorous. It skims the deep for dead animal matter, follows the ship for offal thrown overboard, paces the shore in quest of molluscs and marine insects, flies inland in stormy weather (a specimen was once brought me which had been shot in Hertfordshire, twenty miles from the nearest navigable river) in winter and spring, and follows the plough along with Rooks and Jackdaws, alights on fields which have been manured with decomposed fish, resorts to marshes for frogs and worms, and after an inundation repairs to the lately submersed ground, and picks up the small quadrupeds which have been drowned. It usually flies at no great elevation above the water, but when repairing inland and returning it frequently rises to a very great height.

THE HERRING GULL
LARUS ARGENTÁTUS

Head and neck white, streaked in summer with light brown; tail
and lower parts white; back and wings bluish ash; primaries
dusky, passing into black, the shafts black and extremities
white; secondaries edged and tipped with white; bill, orbits,
and irides, yellow; feet flesh-colour. In _young birds_ the
white is mostly replaced by dark grey, mottled with brown;
wings and tail brown, the latter reddish yellow towards the
end; bill dusky; irides, orbits, and feet, brown. Length
twenty-three inches. Eggs olive-brown, spotted with dark brown
and dusky.

If, among a flock of Common Gulls, seen either following a vessel at sea or attending on the movements of a shoal of fish, one be observed which greatly surpasses the rest in size, it will probably be this species, provided that it have a grey and not a black back. In the latter case it may either be the Great or Lesser Black-backed Gull.

The Herring Gull is a large and powerful bird, thoroughly competent to dispose of a herring or even a more bulky fish. It is common on most parts of the British coast, and remains with us all the year, building its nest on steep cliffs, or rocky islands. In the south of England it is very abundant, and is more frequently seen inland, in newly-ploughed fields, than any other species. Like the other Gulls, it may easily be tamed if taken young; and, when kept in a garden, earns its maintenance by keeping down slugs and other vermin.

THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
LARUS FUSCUS

Wings reaching two inches beyond the tail; head and neck white,
streaked (in _winter_) with brown; lower parts pure white; rest
of the upper plumage blackish grey; primaries black, the first
two with an oval white spot near the tip; secondaries and
scapulars tipped with white; bill, irides, and feet, yellow;
tarsus two and a quarter inches long; orbits red. In _young
birds_ the white plumage is mostly replaced by grey mottled
with brown, and the black by dusky edged with yellowish; the
primaries have no white spots, and the bill is dusky. Length
twenty-three inches. Eggs brownish grey, spotted with brown
and black.

This is a generally diffused species, occurring in considerable numbers, not only on various parts of our coast, but in the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the northern parts of America. It repairs in spring either to rocky islands, steep cliffs, or sometimes to inland lakes, where it builds a rather large nest of tufts of grass, and lays two or three eggs. When the young are hatched it is very impatient of having its stronghold invaded, and resents molestation by darting at the head of the intruder. The Lesser Black-backed Gull breeds habitually on many parts of the coast, especially such as are frequented by the Herring Gull. Its food and habits are much the same as those of the Common Gull. In the South of England, the nesting-places are confined to Devon and Cornwall, but there are colonies on the Farne Islands, the Isle of Man and Wales.

THE GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL
LARUS MARÍNUS

Wings extending but little beyond the tail; legs pale
flesh-colour. Length thirty inches; breadth about five feet
nine inches. In most other respects resembling the Lesser
Black-backed Gull. Eggs stone-buff, blotched and spotted with
dusky brown.

Of the two Black-backed Gulls, the Greater, or 'Cobb', is by far the less frequent on our coasts, and when seen generally occurs in pairs. It remains with us all the year, but is most frequent in the south during winter. In spring, Great Black-backed Gulls for the most part withdraw to cliffs and rocky islands far north, as, for instance, the Orkneys and Hebrides, where they are numerous, a few only nesting southwards. Unlike most other Gulls, birds of this species are unsociable even in the breeding season. They build their nests on the most inaccessible parts of the rocks, and reserve the situation entirely to themselves, not even permitting birds of their own species or any other intruders to settle there. They are exceedingly wary, and give notice of the approach of danger to other animals. Consequently, they are held in dislike by the gunner, whether in pursuit of sea-birds or seals. Like the rest of the Gulls, they are omnivorous, but are, more than any others, addicted to carrion, in quest of which they often wander inland; hence, they are sometimes called Carrion Gulls. 'If a floating prize presents itself', says Mr. St. John, 'such as the remains of a large fish or dead bird, it is soon discovered by one of the large Gulls, who is not, however, allowed to enjoy his prize alone, for every one of his fellows within sight joins in tearing it to pieces. When I have winged a Duck, and it has escaped and gone out to sea, I have frequently seen it attacked, and devoured almost alive, by these birds.'

Stations occur here and there on the coast of England in which the Great Black-backed Gull builds. It sometimes resorts to a marsh at the breeding season, but retains its habit of driving away all intruders. Its eggs are prized as dainties, being thought to resemble Plovers' eggs.

GLAUCOUS GULL, OR BURGOMASTER
LARUS GLAUCUS

General plumage white; back and wings bluish grey; tail and
terminal portion of the quills white; bill strong, yellow; legs
livid flesh-colour. _Young_ mottled with white, grey, and light
brown; shafts of the quills white; in other respects like the
last, but the bill is longer and stouter. Length about
twenty-nine inches; breadth five feet two inches. Eggs as in
the last, but of a greener hue.

The Glaucous Gull, a large, handsome, and powerful bird, resembles in many of its habits the species last described, but it has not been known to breed in even the most northerly of the British Isles. It pays occasional visits to our shores in winter. A few specimens only have been shot in the southern portion of the island, and no large number in Scotland; but in the neighbourhood of the whale fishery it is common enough. It is very voracious, and not only eats fish, whether dead or alive, and shares with the whale-fisher in his booty, but pursues other sea-fowl, compels them to disgorge their prey, robs them of their eggs, and, if they resist, kills and devours them.[52] In short, it is the very tyrant of the Arctic Ocean. Its predatory habits were noticed by the early navigators in these waters, who gave it the name of Burgomaster; but as no accurate description of the bird was brought home, and as some of our other large Gulls are open to a charge of similar rapacity, the name was naturally transferred by Willughby to another species, which he calls the Wagel (probably the Great Black-backed Gull in immature plumage). This was in 1676. A hundred years later Brunnich gave it the name of Glaucous Gull; but it is still called Burgomaster by the Dutch, and by Arctic voyagers generally.

Mr. St. John gives the name of Wagel to the Great Grey Gull.

[52] A specimen shot in Norfolk was found to contain a
full-grown Golden Plover entire.

THE KITTIWAKE GULL
RISSA TRIDACTYLA

Hind toe represented by a small knob without a claw. _Summer
plumage_--head and neck pale bluish ash, a few fine dusky
streaks before the eyes; forehead, region of the eyes, and all
the under parts, pure white; upper plumage bluish ash; first
primary with the outer web black, four first tipped with black,
two or three of them ending in a small white spot, fifth having
the tip white bordered with black; bill greenish yellow; orbits
red; irides brown; feet dark olive-brown. In _winter_, the
whole of the head and neck is white. _Young birds_ have the
head white, mottled with grey and dusky; upper feathers tipped
with brown; bend and upper edge of the wing black; primaries
black; tail black, towards the end tipped with white; bill,
orbits, and irides, black; feet pale brown. Length fifteen and
a half inches. Eggs stone-colour, spotted with grey and two
shades of brown.

The Kittiwake Gull takes its name from the cry with which in the breeding season it assails any intruder on its domain. It is a beautiful bird, especially in its variegated immature plumage, remarkable for its delicacy of colouring and the easy grace of its flight, frequenting high cliffs in summer, while engaged in the duties of incubation, and at all other times preferring the open sea to estuaries, and feeding on such small fish as swim near the surface. It is very abundant in the Arctic regions of both hemispheres during summer, and extends its southern limits so far as to include the British Isles, but is most numerous in the north. Its nest, built of sea-weed or bents, is placed high up in the face of a precipitous cliff, generally on a narrow ledge, and in close proximity with others belonging to birds of the same species. It contains three eggs, and the young birds remain in their airy nest until fully fledged, when, as well as their parents, they disperse over the neighbouring seas, rarely venturing either to perch on land or fly over it. The young of the Kittiwake, previous to its first moult, is sometimes called the Tarrock. Colonel Irby says that the Kittiwake is a partially resident species. Marked birds have been known to follow vessels across the North Atlantic.

Herring Gull.

Little Gull, _imm._

Kittiwake [M]

Brown-headed Gull [F]

[_face p. 289._]]

Twist Tailed or Pomatorhine Skua

Richardson's Skua

Great Shearwater

Great Skua]

SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIINÆ (ROBBER GULLS)

THE GREAT SKUA
STERCORARIUS CATARRHÁCTES

Upper plumage brown, of several shades; shafts of the quills,
basal half of the primaries, and shafts of the tail-feathers,
white; under, reddish grey, tinged with brown; two central
tail-feathers but slightly elongated, not tapering; tarsus two
and a half inches long, somewhat rough at the back. Length
twenty-five inches. Eggs olive-brown, blotched with brown.

The Skuas, called also Skua Gulls, are sufficiently distinguished from the true Gulls by their strong hooked bills and talons, and by the habits of daring and voracity founded on these characters. The present species, though called common, is only to be so considered in high latitudes; for it is very rarely seen on the coasts of England, and has become scarce even in the Shetland Islands, where it was at one time frequent. Mr. Dunn[53] says: "I never saw this bird in Orkney, and there are only three places in Shetland where it breeds--viz. Foula, Rona's Hill, and the Isle of Mist; in the latter place it is by no means numerous, and is strictly preserved by the landlords, on whose property it may have settled, from a superstition that it will defend their flocks from the attacks of the Eagle. That it will attack the Eagle if he approaches their nests is a fact I have witnessed: I once saw a pair completely beat off a large Eagle from their breeding-place, on Rona's Hill. The flight of the Skua is stronger and more rapid than that of any other Gull. It is a great favourite with the fishermen, frequently accompanying their boats to the fishing-ground, or Haaf, which they consider a lucky omen; and in return for its attendance, they give it the refuse of the fish which are caught. The Skua Gull does not associate in groups; and it is seldom that more than a pair are seen together. During the breeding season it is highly courageous; and will strike furiously at, and will even pursue, any one who may happen to approach its nest, which is constructed among the heath or moss; the female laying two eggs."

Some authors state that the Common Skua obtains its livelihood by levying contributions on the White Gulls, compelling them to disgorge their prey, and catching it before it reaches the water; but Dr. Edmonston, who had great opportunities of watching the habits of these birds, says that they do not adopt the practises correctly attributed to the Arctic Gull, or Richardson's Skua. The voice of the Common Skua is said to resemble that of a young Gull, being sharp and shrill; and it is from the resemblance of its cry to that of the word Skua, or Skui, that it obtains its popular name. That it is remarkably courageous and daring, all accounts agree. Mr. Low says that, when the inhabitants are looking after their sheep on the hills, the Skua often attacks them in such a manner that they are obliged to defend themselves with their cudgels held above their heads, on which it often kills itself; and Captain Vetch, In the _Memoirs of the Wernerian Society_, says that it not only drives away Ravens and Eagles, but that the larger quadrupeds, such as horses and sheep, which venture near its nest, are immediately put to flight. Its northern name is Bonxie.

[53] _Ornithologist's Guide to Orkney and Shetland_, p. 112.

TWIST-TAILED OR POMATORHINE SKUA
STERCORARIUS POMATORHINUS

Upper plumage uniform dark brown; feathers of the nape long,
tapering lustrous; sides of the face and under plumage white; a
collar of brown spots on the breast, and similar spots on the
flanks; shafts of the quills and tail-feathers white, except at
the tip; two central tail-feathers projecting three inches, not
tapering; tarsus two inches long, rough at the back, with
projecting scales. Length twenty-one inches. _Young
birds_--upper plumage dusky brown, mottled with reddish yellow;
under, yellowish white, thickly set with brown spots and bars.
Eggs ash-green, spotted with dusky.

The habits of this bird vary but little from those of the other species. Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays southwards in winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts. The following account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844, indicates a bird of unusual daring and voracity: "About the beginning of last October, a Pomarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village of Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would not quit: it was kept alive above a fortnight, and then died. The very first day of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-five Sparrows. Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck, which it held till recaptured."[54]

[54] _Zoologist_, vol. iii. p. 880.

RICHARDSON'S SKUA
STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS

Crown dusky; cheeks, neck, and under plumage white, tinged with
yellow or brown; rest of the plumage dusky, the wings and tail
the darkest. Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base,
pointed, and projecting six inches; tarsus less than two
inches. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs olive, with a circle of
brown spots near the larger extremity, the rest speckled with
the same colour.

This species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic Gull, received its distinctive name, 'Richardson's', in honour of the eminent Arctic naturalist. It is distinguished from the species already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much alike; indeed, the names of 'Arctic Gull', 'Boatswain', 'and Man-of-War', appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately. Richardson's Skua, like the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than either of the other species, so that its occurrence on the east coast of England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, 'numbers of this bird breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in May and leaving in August: it is confined to a few situations and is strictly preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It constructs its nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations. The female lays two eggs, and has recourse to the same stratagems that the Plover employs to decoy you from the nest; but when a person approaches near to the place where the nest is built, becomes bold and fierce, and strikes severely with the feet and bill.' The following account is taken from Mr. St. John's _Wild Sports of the Highlands_: "I was much amused the other day by the proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed Gull or Boatswain. These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated ridge of sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds were fishing, and hovering about in search of what the waves might cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting these two black robbers, who seemed to be quietly resting, quite unconcerned. When, however, a Gull had picked up a prize, these birds seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the rapidity of a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner of flight), they attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and in spite of his screams and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him till he disgorged the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one of them darted down and caught the substance before it could reach the water. The two then quietly returned to their sandbank, where they waited patiently to renew the robbery, should an opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls moved on with the flow of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also, hovering on their flank like a pair of plundering freebooters. I observed that, in chasing a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand each other as to who should get the spoil; and in their attacks on the largest Gulls (against whom they waged the most fearless warfare), they evidently acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of Boatswains intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to send them further off; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till the new-comers left the neighbourhood.

"I never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other way than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large as some of the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops and great courage seem to enable them to fight their way most successfully. They are neatly and powerfully made, their colour a kind of sooty dull black, with very little gloss or shining tints on their feathers."

Black Guillemot [M] [F]

Puffin [M]

Guillemot [F]

Razor-bill [M]

[_face p. 290._]]

Red-throated Diver [F] Winter and [M] Summer.

Black-throated Diver _imm._ and [M]

Little Auk [F]

Great Northern Diver [M]]

ORDER PYGOPODES

FAMILY ALCIDÆ

THE RAZOR-BILL
ALCA TORDA

Wings reaching to the origin of the tail; head and upper parts
black; a band across the wing; an interrupted line from the eye
to the base of the bill, and all the under parts white; bill
black, with three or four furrows, of which the middle one is
white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In _summer_ the line from the
eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat and
neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs
white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown.

In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot and Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is called a Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot; and in Cornwall both Guillemots and Razor-bills are known by the common name of Murre. At a distance the birds can only be distinguished by a practised eye; but on a close inspection they cannot be possibly confounded.

Razor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the later summer months. They are more frequently seen swimming than flying, and if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take alarm until they are approached to within twenty or thirty yards, when they dive, but soon reappear not very far off. If two birds be in company and one be killed by a shot from a gun, its companion, instead of taking measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose the power of self-preservation. It paddles round its companion as if unable to comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies, and if pursued suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by an oar. This sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which have paired, or to members of the same family; for in an instance which came under my own notice, both birds were only a few months old, and, as the Razor-bill lays but one egg, the birds could not possibly have grown up together. Towards winter, Razor-bills migrate southwards, either to avoid cold or to find waters where their prey swims nearer to the surface than in our climate. In spring they return northwards, and repair, like Puffins, to places of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At this season, also, they are eminently social, laying each an egg in close proximity on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puffins, but above the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion of coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that of the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less decidedly pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of food, and is said to be very palatable.

The 'Auk' of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is one of the best known of the Auk family, or Alcidæ, although less plentiful than the Guillemot or the Puffin.

THE COMMON GUILLEMOT
ÚRIA TRÓILE

Bill much compressed, longer than the head, greyish black;
upper plumage brownish black; the secondaries tipped with
white; a whitish patch behind the eye on each side; under
plumage white; feet dusky; iris brown. Length nearly eighteen
inches. Eggs greenish or bluish, blotched and streaked with
black.

This is one of our common sea-birds during a great portion of the year, though little known to ordinary sea-side visitors, owing to its habit of keeping well out to sea and having nothing ostentatious in its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part of the coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers, distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white colours, short neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water; and when disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers, but readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never resorting to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they capture by diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than the true Divers, and which they practise in the same way--by the means, namely, of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small party may be observed, flying in single file near the surface of the water. On the eastern coast of England, the Guillemot is best known by the name of Willock. It is also called Tinker's Hue, or, as Yarrell gives it, 'Tinkershere'; and in the west of England it is often called a Murr. The old writers describe it under the name of Greenland Dove, or Sea Turtle-Dove; and in Scotland it has a variety of other names. Tinker's Hue is, I presume, the sobriquet of a white bird with a smutty back; Murr is clearly a corruption of Mergus, or 'diver'. Yet more commonly it is known as the 'Foolish Guillemot', a term of reproach analogous to that of 'Booby', given to it from the indifference which it evinces, in the breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the most formidable of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng together from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty cliff, where, on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they deem inaccessible, they lay each a single egg. As the bird holds the egg between her legs, she could not well cover more than one; and though a concave nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there are several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only; so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough, so that it receives no detriment from the rock; and it is not likely to roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost to a point; consequently, if accidentally moved by the parent bird when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall off. At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are frequented also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Razor-bills, Puffins, and Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but never consorting with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St. Kilda, the Orkneys, and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the breeding season of these birds is the harvest-time of the natives. Either by climbing from below, or by being let down with ropes from above, the egg-collectors invade the dominions of these literally feathered 'tribes'. The Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave their charge, suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, to be netted, or noosed. Although stationed so close to each other that a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its own egg, they learn no wisdom from the fate of their nearest neighbours. They are captured in detail for the sake of their feathers; and their eggs are taken for food. In St. Kilda and, perhaps, elsewhere, young birds are also taken in large numbers, and salted for consumption in winter. Such as escape this systematic slaughter flounder, as well as they are able, into the sea when nearly fledged, or are carried thither by their foolish mothers. There they learn to swim, to dive, and to fish, and about the middle of August old and young disperse.

Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets of seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport), and sold for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are much larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his _Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland_, says that the natives of St. Kilda prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, 'when _sour_; that is, when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient bird, when boiled, forms in the centre into a thickish flaky matter, like milk.'[55] Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of Flamborough Head early in the nesting season.

[55] Vol. ii. p. 45.

THE BLACK GUILLEMOT
ÚRIA GRYLLE

Upper plumage black; middle of the wings and under parts white;
iris brown; feet red. Length thirteen and a half inches. Eggs
whitish grey, blotched and speckled with grey and two shades of
brown.

The Black Guillemot, is a resident species breeding on the Isle
of Man, and on the Irish coasts. In Scotland it is common. Its
mode of life, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly
acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of
the species already described. It is, however, much smaller,
and lays two or sometimes three eggs. Macgillivray says that,
on those parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are
often made to rear it in captivity; but always unsuccessfully.
In summer, these birds may be readily distinguished from other
sea-fowl, by their black and white plumage and red feet: the
predominant tint of the plumage in winter is white, with a
tinge of grey; and in high latitudes the proportion of white
increases.

THE LITTLE AUK
MÉRGULUS ÁLLE

Head and upper parts black; two bands across the wings; a spot
above the eye and all the under parts white. In _summer_ the
throat and front of the neck are also black. Length about seven
inches. Eggs uniform pale blue.

The Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of Rotche. It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable powers of flight; but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the same degree as the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a short time under water. Hence it must find its food near the surface; and this is supposed to consist of the small crustaceous animals which are so abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently social birds, and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on the water and floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-place. They rarely travel far south; and when they visit our shores, which is in winter, and after tempestuous weather, they are supposed to have been driven hither against their will. Instances are recorded of specimens having been found far inland, disabled or dead. It lays only a single egg.

THE PUFFIN
FRATERCULA ÁRCTICA

Crown, collar, and upper parts, black; cheeks, region of the
eyes, and throat, greyish white; under parts pure white; bill
bluish grey at the base, yellow in the middle, bright red at
the tip; upper mandible with three transverse furrows, lower,
with two; iris whitish; orbits red; feet orange-red. Length
twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with indistinct
ash-coloured spots.

Unlike the majority of sea-birds which have been passing under our notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer, and even in winter they are not absent. They make their appearance about April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately along the coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected breeding-places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their home being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the faculties of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They have, moreover, considerable powers of flight; but on land their gait is only a shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on shore is, however, but a temporary one, and requires no great amount of locomotion. Soon after their arrival they set to work about their nests. Fanciful people who class birds according to their constructive faculty as weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on, would rank Puffins among miners. Building is an art of which they are wholly ignorant, yet few birds are lodged more securely. With their strong beaks, they excavate for themselves holes in the face of the cliff to the depth of about three feet, and at the extremity the female lays a solitary egg--solitary, that is to say, unless another bird takes shelter in the same hole, which is not unfrequently the case. Puffins generally show no overweening partiality for their own workmanship; sloping cliffs which have been perforated by rabbits are favourite places of resort; and here they do not at all scruple to avail themselves of another's labour, or, if necessary, to eject by force of beak the lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited for boring, they lay their eggs under large stones or in crevices in the rock. The old bird sits most assiduously, and suffers herself to be taken rather than desert her charge, but not without wounding, with her powerful beak, and to the best of her ability, the hand which ventures into her stronghold. Myriads burrow on Lundy Island. _Lunde_ means Puffin, and _ey_ Island, the name being given by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there.

The young are fed by both parents, at first on half-digested fish, and when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer their colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are either shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty. As soon as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to southern seas, where they pass the winter, and do not approach land until the return of the breeding season. "A small island near Skye, named Fladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a species which arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the rocks and ledgy cliffs with its feathered thousands. Although these have no concern with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally disappear on the twelfth of August."[56] It was just about this period (August 7) in the present year (1861) that I observed several large flocks of Puffins, floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay, and was told by an intelligent gamekeeper that "these birds habitually _swim_ through the sound at this season, but always _fly_ when returning". The reason probably is that the young are not at the former period sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though they find no difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained their full strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of progress. In Scotland there are many large colonies, also in the cliffs by Flamborough Head, and on the Farne Islands.

Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a fatal epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance, being unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have seen a portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance of more than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer parts had been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous animals, and nothing was left but the unmistakable parrot-like beaks. A friend informs me that he witnessed a similar phenomenon in Norfolk, in September, 1858; but in this instance the carcases of the birds were not devoured, and the birds were of different kinds. He estimated that about ninety per cent. were Guillemots, and the remainder Puffins, Razor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of Black Throated Divers. A similar mortality among sea-birds is recorded in the _Zoologist_ as having taken place on the coast of Norfolk, in May, 1856. On this occasion they were so numerous as to be thought worth collecting for manure.

Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coulterneb, Mullet, Bottlenose; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-Norie, and Tammas.

[56] Wilson's _Voyage round the Coast of Scotland_.

FAMILY COLYMBIDÆ

THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER
COLYMBUS GLACIÁLIS

Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four
inches in length; head and neck violet-black, with a double
gorget white, barred with black; upper parts black, spotted
with white; under parts white; bill black; irides brown; feet
dusky, the membranes whitish. _Young_ very like the next, but
distinguishable by their superior size and the direction of the
bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, with a
few spots of purplish brown.

The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a _tribe_ of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds, which, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed to designate the genus COLYMBUS, and with great propriety; for, however skilled any of the above birds may be in this mode of progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First among these in size and dignity is the Great Northern Diver, a native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming farther south than the Shetlands for breeding purposes, and visiting our waters only during winter.[57] The Northern Diver, or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably frequent in British waters. In Scotland it prefers salt-water lochs and sandy bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge or splash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps two or three hundred yards of water before it rises again. Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone; Audubon, on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly than the Grebes, and these birds undoubtedly make a vigorous use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a much larger size are numerous, the Northern Diver finds a rich harvest. Occasionally while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing into the herring nets, and there getting entangled. A fine specimen was recently shown to me in the island of Islay, which had been thus captured. Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to elude pursuit, it is often seen flying with strength and rapidity, outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is furnished with far larger wings than itself.

The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occurrence, most of those which visit our shores being young birds.

The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water's edge. This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a feat which it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is bulky, and is formed of the vegetable substances found in the immediate vicinity, such as grasses and other herbaceous plants. It contains two, and sometimes three, eggs. The young are able to swim and dive very soon after they are hatched, and are fed for about a fortnight by their parents, at the expiration of which time they have to hunt for themselves.

[57] Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as
an authority for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the
Broads of Norfolk. A careful examination of that author will
show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had seen only a single
specimen of the Northern Diver, his 'Divers', or 'Dive-fowl',
being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have
seen above, continue to breed in the Broads.

THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS