are usually mottled or striped ; they lie sluggishly in
the nest for some time, though they often leave it
and wander about in the day.

Family LARIDJE, or Gulls and Terns

The Gulls and Terns together compose one Family,
though a Subfamily Larince is often used for the former,
and Sternince for the latter. But, while combined for
anatomical reasons, their habits differ to a considerable
extent. Gulls have a steady and often gliding flight
and for the most part keep high in the air, if they are
not resting on the ground or on the surface of the water ;
Terns, often called Sea-swallows, have a much more
energetic way of moving, and give an impression of
extreme buoyancy as they hover, dart, twist, and turn,
while uttering their shrill or more or less grating cries.
All is excitement, as opposed to the ordinarily placid
conduct of the Gull. It is not their habit to repose on



220 Order XIV

the water, but they skim along over the tops of the
waves, darting down to secure a fish and not uncom-
monly submerging themselves by the violence of their
sudden plunge. Sand-eels and the like from shores
left dry by the tide form part of their diet, but those
Terns and Gulls that breed inland have a much more
varied bill of fare. Gulls, indeed, are practically
omnivorous, for, in addition to the creatures of the sea,
they feed on worms, grubs, grain, and even berries,
not to mention the young birds and lambs destroyed
by such bold robbers as the Greater Black-backed Gull.
It is a pretty sight to see flocks of Gulls usually of
the Black-headed or Common species following the
plough ; they keep close behind the ploughman, rising
in a cloud from time to time for no obvious reason and
settling down again immediately to resume their inter-
rupted repast. In many towns, Perth being a striking
instance, they sit on the roof -ridges in the early morning
waiting for any refuse that may be thrown out ; later
in the day they are equally on the alert as scavengers
of the quiet streets. In Perth the Black-headed Gull,
which breeds close at hand, is the bird in question,
but in other towns near the sea the Common Gulls, or
less often the larger species, crowd upon the tops of the
suburban "dust-heaps" and fight with each other for
the delicacies they find there. Gulls do not scream like
Terns, but utter querulous or mewing cries, which in
the case of the largest species become harsh croaking
sounds. Both are distinctly gregarious on the coast,
as well as at their nesting-colonies, and there is little
difference in this respect; perhaps Terns congregate
more closely when sitting on the shore, Gulls when on
the cliffs or inland marshes. But all the inland species



Gavice 221

have habits that vary somewhat from the normal, and
these will be considered under the several headings.
Gulls build a large nest of grass or sea-weed, mixed with
refuse, or, on lakes, of water-weeds, rushes, and flags ;
they lay two or three eggs of a greenish or olive-brown
colour with spots and blotches of dark brown and grey.
Terns scrape a hole in the turf, among shingle or sand,
or even make use of rocks, and add little or no lining,
the two or three eggs being cream-coloured, green, or
brown in ground-colour with bold markings of brown,
grey, or black. The Black Tern and its congeners are
exceptional in making nests in marshy places of water-
weeds, which sometimes almost float on the surface;
the Sooty and the Noddy Tern (p. 261 ) in laying a creamy
white egg with lilac and brownish red spots. The latter
commonly makes a nest of grass and rubbish and places
it on the top of a low tree or bush. In conclusion it
should be observed that, except for stray individuals,
no Terns remain with us in winter.

SUBFAMILY Sterninae, OR TERNS

The Black Tern (Hydrochelidon nigra), which is
blackish grey rather than black with red-brown feet
and black bill, and is somewhat lighter above, used
to breed until the middle of last century in Norfolk,
and at earlier dates in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire,
besides several parts of East Anglia, where it was
called the "Blue Darr " or " Carr-S wallow." It is
now only a visitor, which occurs at various times of
year and sometimes remains as late as May. Abroad
it ranges from Holland, Denmark, and the Baltic to
the Obb River, Lake Zaisan and north Africa. The food
consists largely of insects, but is varied by fish, newts,



222 Order XIV

frogs, and leeches ; the nest of rotting weeds is always in
a marsh, and the eggs are usually dark coloured.

The White-winged Black Tern (H. leucoptera) is a
blacker bird with red bill and feet, white tail, and white
wings that become grey from about the middle to the
tips ; it is a rarer visitor to Britain than the Black Tern,
but is seen at similar seasons and has similar habits.
From Poland and the Rhone valley it appears to extend
to north Africa, while it ranges from the Caspian Sea
to China, but further information seems necessary
before we can lay down certain limits.

The Whiskered Tern (H. leucopareia) is quite irregular
in its visits to our shores ; it is as much a marsh Tern
as its congeners, but in colour is grey with a black head
and belly, red bill and feet and a white cheek-stripe.
The range is more southerly, comprising the south of
Spain, southern Russia, Turkey, Greece, and north
Africa, and extending thence to north India and
perhaps Mongolia. A few pairs breed in the south
of Germany, Poland, and at the mouth of the Rhone.

This species is given here merely for purposes of
comparison, while the Gull-billed Tern and the large
Caspian Tern must certainly be left to the subsequent
list of uncommon migrants ; but we may note that both
have bred as near to Britain as the island of Sylt off
the shores of Denmark, and possibly may be found
more frequent visitors to our shores than has been
supposed. They belong to the following genus, Sterna,
and not to Hydrochelidon.

The Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis), the largest
of the species which breed with us, does so regularly
on the Fame Islands off Northumberland, Raven-
glass in Cumberland, and thence northwards in certain



Gavice 223

localities as far as the northernmost of the Orkney
Islands. Besides this, it has been known to nest in
more southern places and in Ireland, and it is hoped
that many of the colonies will be permanent, though the
bird is apt to change its quarters for no very apparent
reason. Abroad it ranges from Holland and Denmark
to the Caspian Sea, as well as from north Carolina to
Mexico and Honduras in the western hemisphere,
though the American form is slightly different. It
is also known to breed in Spain, some of the Medi-
terranean Islands, Tunisia, and the eastern Canaries.
The colour is grey above and pinkish white below, the
crown, nape, legs, and bill being black, with a yellow tip
to the bill. Two eggs of a whitish or buff colour, with
black, grey, or red-brown spots and blotches, are usually
laid on a sandy shore, but sometimes among short
grass or sea-plants on an island.

The Roseate Tern (S. dougalli) still breeds off the
shores of Anglesea, in Ireland, on the Fame Islands,
and in the Moray Firth, while a few pairs may do so
even in East Anglia, the Scilly Islands, and elsewhere,
though they are supposed to have left those parts. It
is found in summer from western France to the Mediter-
ranean, from New England to Venezuela, in the Azores
and Madeira, and down the Indian Ocean, while it also
nests in Madagascar, Ceylon, the Andaman Islands, and
so to south China and Australia. But for the exact
localities the reader must consult the pages of one of
the larger works on birds. Grey above with a black
head, as in the case of its congeners, the lower parts
in life are of a beautiful pink colour, which fades con-
siderably after death ; the bill is black, the feet red. The
two or three eggs, laid on sand or rock, resemble those



224 Order XIV

of the Common Tern, but are generally buff in ground-
colour ; the note is comparatively harsh and grating.

The Common Tern (S. hirundo) is the most abundant
species in England and southern Scotland generally,
but further north the Arctic Tern (S. paradisea) out-
rivals it in numbers, and was till lately the only
member of the genus known to breed in Shetland.
Both occur up the west coast and in Ireland. If we




Common Tern

omit exact details, the Common Tern ranges over
temperate Europe and western Asia, with the Atlantic
Islands, north Africa and North America, while only the
Arctic Tern is found in the Fseroes, Iceland, and the
more northern regions. In the Common Tern the head
and nape are black, the upper parts grey, the lower
greyish white ; the bill is orange with yellowish white
tip, the legs are red. The nest and eggs are of the
usual type, described in the general account above.



Gavice 225

The Arctic Tern has a circumpolar range, though in
eastern Asia a closely allied form is more abundant ; it
has an entirely red bill, and the outer feathers of the
deeply forked tail are longer than in the common species.
On the whole the eggs are smaller, more often green in
ground-colour, and occasionally fine yellowish red.

The Little Tern (S. minuta) is much more local than
either of the two birds just mentioned, and almost
always lays its smaller eggs among shingle or in sand,
generally nearer the sea than its congeners. They are
light buff or greenish white with grey and brown mark-
ings, and do not vary much the note is shrill and the
parents are bold and restless. This Tern breeds in
various localities from Orkney to the extreme south of
England, and abroad from the Baltic to north and west
Africa and north India. The limits cannot, however, be
yet determined with certainty, as more than one similar
species meet our bird in Asia, and their ranges not
improbably overlap. The smaller size, white forehead,
orange feet, and yellowish orange bill with black tip
distinguish it at once from its British congeners.

SUBFAMILY Larinse, OR GULLS

The first Gull to be mentioned is Sabine's Gull (Xema
sabinii), our only fork-tailed species ; it is comparatively
small, has a lead-coloured head and neck, with first
a black and then a white collar, white tail, and under-
surface. Many individuals have been seen or killed
at various points of our coasts in the latter half of the
year, and the bird is known to breed in America, from
Greenland to Alaska and along the Arctic coasts of
Europe and Asia from Spitsbergen to east Siberia.
The appearance of individuals in summer in the Polar
B. B. 15



226 Order XIV

regions of Europe make it a 1 most a certainty that this
Gull ranges all round the Polar seas. It can hardly
be said to have any nest, for the two olive-brown eggs
with dull brown blotches are reported to be laid either
on the bare ground or on tussocks in marshes.

The Little Gull (Larus minutus) is another of our
uncommon visitors, but instead of occurring only at
considerable intervals, it seldom fails to put in an
appearance in the autumn or winter. At times single
individuals only are obtained, but in some seasons
large numbers are present on our shores and may be
found even as far north as Shetland. The bird breeds
inland from Jutland to the south-eastern Baltic dis-
tricts, northern Russia, and temperate Asia, and makes
a nest of grass and so forth on the drier parts of large
marshes, the three or four eggs being miniature examples
of those of the species next to be described, though
usually of the browner type.

The Black-headed Gull (L. ridibundus) always breeds
inland in Britain, and its eggs are often gathered for
eating ; they are usually olive-brown in colour with
blackish or brownish markings, but vary though less
than those of many other Gulls to green or greenish
blue. A red Gull's egg is exceptional in any case, and
therefore much prized by collectors. The nest of marsh
herbage ,is of considerable size and is built on flat
islands or in almost inaccessible parts of swamps,
more rarely among " casual " water in badly drained
spots. Whereas the Little Gull has a decidedly black
head and upper neck, the present species has really
only a brown hood, not reaching down the neck behind,
while it may be noted that two uncommon stragglers
in our subsequent list, the Mediterranean and Great



Gavice 227

Black-headed Gulls, have perfectly black heads, as in
the Little Gull. Sabine's and the rare Bonaparte's Gull
are our only other black-headed species, and in all the
head becomes nearly white after the breeding season.
Both the Little and the Black-headed Gull are grey
above and pinkish white below, but the smaller bird
lacks the black on the outer wing-quills, though it
is black below the wings. In both the legs are red,
of a more purple hue in the Little Gull. Colonies of the
Black-headed Gull are comparatively rare in the south
and south-west of England, commoner in Ireland and
Scotland ; but they are even found in Shetland, as well
as in the Fseroes, temperate Europe, and temperate
Asia generally. The note is shrill and peevish.

Of the Gulls without black heads all but the Kitti-
wake occasionally breed inland, either round moorland
waters or on islands in them, and the species which
most frequently does so is the Common Gull (L. canus),
so called from its abundance on our coasts and fields
during the colder seasons of the year. No breeding
colonies exist south of the Scottish border and few in
Ireland, but from western and southern Scotland they
increase to the northward, though rare in the eastern
half. The grassy nests are usually placed on islands in
small lakes, on their stony sides, or on rock-strewn
slopes near the sea, and are not found on precipitous
cliff-faces; the eggs are of the usual Gull type, but
comparatively seldom green. The Common Gull is
abundant throughout Scandinavia, the Baltic, northern
and central Russia, while the form which extends across
northern Asia to Kamtschatka is merely a little larger
and darker above. This species is grey, with white
head, tail, and under surface ; the wing-quills have

152



228 Order XIV

black ends and the legs are yellow. The note is more
mewing than that of most Gulls, whence it is called
the Sea-mew.

The Herring-Gull (L. argentatus) is really the common
Gull of Britain, and is often so called by country-folk ;
its general coloration is that of the last species, but
it is much larger and has flesh-coloured legs. Apart
from a few colonies on moorlands and Scottish lochs,
it is found breeding on cliffs or rocky islands in all




Herring-Gull

suitable parts of Britain. It ranges generally from
Arctic Europe to north France, as well as across
Arctic America from Greenland to central Alaska. In
winter it migrates far to the south. In the Atlantic
Islands, the southern European coasts, and thence to the
Black Sea and Lake Baikal the Yellow-legged Herring -
Gull takes its place. The note is shrill and querulous
but not so like a " mew " as that of the Common
Gull, while the eggs are similar, but larger.

The Lesser Black-backed Gull (L. fuscus) is found in
summer from Devonshire and Cornwall up the Welsh



Gavice 229

coasts to the Isle of Man and the west of Scotland
generally. It also breeds inland in Northumberland and
Cumberland, as well as in Ireland, but such cases are
exceptional. On the east coast of England it is the
common Gull of the Fame Islands, and ranges thence
in smaller numbers to the north of Scotland. The nest
and eggs are indistinguishable from those of the Herring-
Gull, but are most commonly on flat islands or sloping
ground, and not on cliffs, for which reason the colonies
are somewhat local. A few exist even off Morocco,
in the Mediterranean and. on the west of France, but
the chief summer haunts are northward, and extend
from the Faeroes and Scandinavia through the Baltic to
Russia. The British form has just been subspecifically
separated from the type. The mantle is black or very
dark grey; there is a little white on the wing-quills;
the bill is yellow with some red at the gape, as in the
Herring -Gull ; the legs are yellow; otherwise the bird
is white.

The Great Black-backed Gull (L. marinus) is much
rarer than the preceding species, and is as often found
in single pairs as in colonies ; a few birds breed in the
south-west of England and in Wales, but by far the
greater part do so in the west and north of Scotland.
Mainland cliffs are not uncommonly utilized, but on
the whole rocky stacks and outlying islands are preferred,
and in Scotland, the Lake District, and the Solway Firth
even marshes, often at considerable elevations. In
Ireland the bird is not rare. Abroad it ranges from
Baffin Bay and Labrador to Greenland, the Faeroes,
Iceland, and Europe north of the Baltic, as well as to
the Yenisei river, while it is known to breed in north-
western France. The two or three eggs are nearly



230 Order XIV

always stone-coloured, but are often very boldly
marked with dark brown and grey. The coloration,
apart from a few differences in the white markings on
the wings, is similar to that in the Lesser Black-backed
Gull; but the legs are flesh-coloured, and the size of
the bird is much greater.

The Glaucous Gull (L. glaucus) and the Iceland Gull
(L. leucopterus) do not breed in Britain, but visit us
regularly in considerable numbers towards winter,
especially in seasons of extreme cold. They are both
very white-looking birds with pale grey mantle and
wings, but the former is much larger than the latter,
and in this respect they correspond with the two species
of Black-backed Gulls. The Glaucous Gull nests through
the Arctic seas of both worlds and in Iceland ; the
Iceland Gull does not breed in that island, but in
Jan Mayen, Greenland, east Arctic America and no
doubt other parts. Perhaps the best distinction, besides
the size, lies in the pink colour of the legs in the first-
named, as opposed to a flesh-coloured, or yellowish tint,
in its ally. The eggs are much as in the Greater Black-
backed Gull, while the nest is commonly, but not always,
on precipitous cliffs ; the food is of the most diverse
description, and includes berries of northern shrubs.

The Kittiwake (Eissa tridactyla), our most dainty
and delicate-looking species, can be distinguished at
once from its British congeners by its black legs and
by the (apparent) absence of a hind-toe. The mantle
is of the same deeper grey as that of the Common Gull,
which the bird most nearly resembles. It always breeds
in large colonies on sheer precipices, the nests of turf,
sea-weed, straw, and like substances being fitted into
small angles in the face of the rock, where at first sight



Gavice



231




232 Order XIV

there appears to be little or no room. A picture of
Kittiwakes on their nests, therefore, shews the sitting
birds almost clear of the cliff. The eggs are greyish-
white, stone-coloured, or light-brown, richly marked
with brown and grey of various shades ; they are much
prettier than those of ordinary Gulls, and do not so often
tend to a green ground-colour. This species is found
locally all round our coasts, and is rarely driv.en inland by
storms ; abroad it breeds in Brittany (with the Channel
Islands), and thence to the Faeroes, Iceland, and all the
circumpolar regions, if we do not separate a very doubt-
fully valid form in Bering Sea, and allow for a really
distinct species in the north Pacific Ocean. In some
respects the Kittiwake recalls a Tern, for it dives and
swims under water in a way that few Gulls attempt,
while the flight is more wavering, and it has a distinct
habit of hovering. A black band near the end of a
Gull's tail is a sign of immaturity.

Family STERCORARIIDJE, or Skuas

Of late years a great deal has been heard of the Great
Skua (Catharacta skua), on account of the necessity
for its preservation in Shetland, where alone in Britain
it breeds. It is a large and heavy dark brown bird with
a tendency to yellow on the neck and a little white on
the back and wing; it lays. its two dull olive eggs with
darker spots and blotches in hollows which it scoops
out in the coarse grass and short heather on the tops of
the hills. If a visitor approaches the colony the parents
swoop down upon him from the front, apparently
aiming at his face ; just before reaching him, however,
they drop their feet and rise above his head. Probably
he may have raised his arm or a stick, which helps to



Gavice 233

produce this effect, but the action of the birds seems
to be natural, and it is doubtful if they really mean to
strike. But they look very terrible, and generally
manage to frighten new-comers. When not nesting
the Great Skua is a seafaring species, which keeps well
out in the ocean and is comparatively seldom observed
with us except in northern Scotland ; it lives, as others
of this group do, on fishes and fowl, and constantly
procures the former by forcing the Gulls to disgorge
what they have just caught. Its flight, though heavy,
can be easily accelerated with this object ; its note is
a harsh cry, supposed to resemble the syllables " skua,
skua." The present species is the biggest of our
"Parasitic Gulls" or "Gull-teasers," and is termed
the Bonxie in Shetland; elsewhere it only breeds in
the Faeroes, Iceland, and in Hudson Strait, though
closely allied species are found in the southern ocean
down to the Antarctic regions.

Our remaining Skuas belong to a different genus,
of which Richardson's or the Arctic Skua (Stercorarius
parasiticus) is the only one that breeds in Britain,
being there confined to the extreme north of Scotland
with its islands, though sufficiently common in Shetland.
The Great Skua group have the central tail-feathers only
slightly projecting, but all the forms of the second
group have them extraordinarily lengthened. The
Arctic Skua has two phases of coloration; in one the
bird is entirely sooty-brown, in the other it has the lower
surface and neck white ; in both a yellowish tinge shews
on the cheeks and neck. These phases cannot be called
sub-species or local races, for they interbreed with each
other, though either may be the commoner at any
one locality. Colonies are formed which nest on grassy



234



Order XIV



or mossy moorlands, not necessarily on the tops of
hills ; the bird's habits are similar to those of the Great
Skua, except that they usually attack an intruder from
behind and sometimes actually slap him with their
wings, while they customarily try to entice him from
their eggs or young by grovelling on the ground before
him, and uttering most distressful mewing cries. Their



I




Arctic Skua

lesser size causes them to chase the smaller rather than
the larger Gulls for fishes, and especially the Kittiwake.
Their eggs are of a brighter brownish or greenish colour
than those of the Great Skuas. After the breeding
season the Arctic Skua migrates down our coasts, and
even reaches the southern oceans ; in summer it is
found in the Faeroes, Iceland, and thence all round the
Pole in the more Arctic regions.



Gavice 235

The Pomatorhine Skua (8. pomatorhinus) is merely
a visitor to our shores from autumn to spring, while
it is much more abundant in some years than others,
and generally moves further south for the winter. It
undoubtedly breeds on the Arctic coasts of Asia, where
eggs have been taken in more than one locality, and
has been reported to nest in northern Europe, as well
as in Greenland and Arctic America. For habits the
reader may consult those of the last species. As
regards coloration, dark examples are only found
exceptionally, while the birds have white necks and
breasts, with a yellow tinge on the former, the crown
being black and the central tail-feathers curiously
twisted to face sideways.

Buffon's or the Long-tailed Skua (S. longicaudus)
comes to us in much the same fashion as its preceding
congener, but it breeds as near Britain as the fell- tops
of Norway and Sweden, as well as all round the Polar
shores and islands of both worlds. As it is the smallest
of our Skuas, the eggs and nest are naturally smaller
also, while the former usually have a greenish tinge ;
the flight is light and elegant, and the note is said to be
more shrill than in Richardson's Skua. The food in the
far north may include berries to a small extent, but
this habit is not unknown among Skuas generally;
still this species seems to be less particular than its
larger relatives, as it will eat insects, crustaceans, and
worms. The blacker head, greyer back, longer tail-
feathers, and smaller size distinguish it from the Arctic