Part 23

The young have the head white, streaked with blackish brown, mantle grey with buffish tips, under parts white. In their first autumn plumage they are very similar to the young of the Sandwich Tern, the feathers of the back being marked with black, brown, and white. Length 9 in.; wing 6·75 in.

THE SOOTY TERN Sterna fuliginosa, J. F. Gmelin

Stragglers of this tropical species have on two or three occasions been met with on our coasts.

There is a white band across the forehead, which extends backwards over the eye on each side; rest of the upper parts deep sooty black; under parts white; outer web of outer tail feathers white. Bill and legs black. Length 17 in.; bill 2·1 in.; tail 7·5 in.; wing 11·75 in.

THE NODDY Anous stolidus (Linnæus)

Like the former, this is a tropical species, which has on two occasions wandered to our shores.

The general colour is a dark chocolate brown all over except for the head, forehead, and crown, which are lavender grey. Length 16 in.; wing 10·5 in.

SABINE'S GULL Xema sabinii (Joseph Sabine)

This circumpolar species is a very rare autumnal visitor to our shores. Its chief breeding-grounds are the Arctic regions of North America, whence it migrates southwards, in winter.

The adult has a slate grey back; the head and neck are very dark grey, tail and under parts white. In winter the forehead and crown are white. In their first autumn the young are ash grey on the occiput, nape, and back. The tail feathers have broad black tips. Length 13 in.; wing 10·75 in.

This species may always be recognised by the forked tail.

THE WEDGE-TAILED GULL Rhodostethia rosea, Macgillivray

This extremely scarce Arctic Gull is said to have been obtained in Yorkshire on one occasion. It may be recognised by the wedge-shaped tail.

The adult is grey on the mantle; the rest of the plumage, except for a narrow black ring round the neck, is pure white. Length 13·5 in.; wing 10·25 in.

BONAPARTE'S GULL Larus philadelphia (Ordigny)

This is a common North American species, of which some three examples have been taken in the United Kingdom.

In summer the adult has the head and neck black; mantle grey; tail and under parts white. The black on the head is lost in winter. Length 14 in.; wing 10·25 in.

This species may always be recognised by the white margins to the inner webs of the two outer primaries.

THE LITTLE GULL Larus minutus, Pallas

This species, which is the smallest of our Gulls, is an irregular autumn visitor to our shores. It breeds in Northern Russia and possibly on some of the islands of the Baltic, migrating in winter to the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

In summer the head and neck are black; mantle grey, primaries grey edged with white, rest of plumage white except the underside of the wing, which is black and forms a distinctive characteristic in the adult. Length 11 in.; wing 8·75 in.

THE BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ridibundus, Linnæus

The Black-headed Gull is an extremely abundant species throughout the United Kingdom at all times of the year. In summer it resorts to various inland marshes and bogs, where it nests in immense colonies, some of which have been in use for centuries. In autumn and winter it is found all along the coast and up tidal rivers, a great many coming to London, where they are extremely tame and show great agility in catching bread and other morsels of food thrown to them by pedestrians. The bird is practically omnivorous. When inland it follows the plough and feeds largely on worms and beetle grubs which are thus laid bare; but on the sea-shore, fish, crustacea, marine insects, and garbage are greedily devoured.

The nests are placed in a very wet and boggy place, surrounded, if possible, by water, but small ponds or tarns in marshy land are chosen in preference to large sheets of water. The nest is a large untidy heap of weeds and sticks. Four eggs, which are greenish, spotted and blotched with various shades of brown, form the usual clutch. The young hatch after about three weeks' incubation, and are covered with pale brown down mottled with black. They leave the nest when two or three days old, but for a week or ten days at least are entirely dependent on their parents for food; after that, however, though still fed by their parents, they pick up a good deal for themselves. They fly when about six weeks old. This gull is extremely noisy at all times, but when the nesting-ground is approached the babel of harsh screams is deafening. Although usually settling on the ground, this bird can perch with ease, and does so not infrequently when at its breeding haunts.

The sexes are alike, and in winter have the back pearl grey, wing feathers white with dark margins to the inner webs, head white with two indistinct dark crescents connecting the eyes and ears respectively, rest of the plumage white. Bill and legs white. In summer the head, with the exception of a narrow white circle over the eye, is dark brown. Bill and legs much darker than in summer. The young in their first plumage are mottled with pale brown, but soon become like the adult except for a black bar on the tail and pale brown wing coverts. The brown head is often only partially assumed in their first summer. Length 16 in.; wing 12 in.

THE MEDITERRANEAN BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus melanocephalus, Natterer

This southern species has only once been taken on our shores, though, as it visits the west of France not uncommonly, there is no great improbability in its occurrence here. Its true habitat is the Mediterranean basin.

It is slightly smaller than the preceding species, and the head is jet black, _not_ brown. The beak is also stouter. In young birds the first five primaries are chiefly dark brown, whereas in our species the shafts and contiguous portion of the inner webs are white. Length 15·5 in.; wing 11·75 in.

THE GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ichthyaëtus, Pallas

This species is found in Egypt, the Levant, the Red Sea, and Persian Gulf, and only one example is known to have occurred on our shores.

The large size and black head are sufficient to distinguish this species when adult; young birds may be recognised by the clear-cut dark band across the tail and by the white margins to the outer webs of the secondaries. Length of male 26 in.; wing 19 in. The female is much smaller.

COMMON GULL Larus canus, Linnæus

This bird is by no means the commonest of our Gulls, but may nevertheless be found in fair numbers along all our coasts in winter.

It does not breed in England, and in Ireland there are comparatively few colonies; but in Scotland, on the low islets round the coast as well as on the lochs and tarns inland, it is abundant in summer as well as in winter.

It usually nests in small colonies of six or eight pairs on some low-lying islet near the coast or on a lake, but it avoids during the breeding season precipitous coasts and exposed situations. The nest is placed on the ground and composed of a few bits of grass, seaweed, and heather without any attempt at concealment. The eggs, usually three in number, are olive brown streaked and spotted with blackish; like most Gull's eggs, however, they vary considerably in colour. In food and habits it closely resembles the Black-headed Gull. Its ordinary note is a harsh cry, but during the nesting season it tries, somewhat feebly, to imitate the well-known call of the larger Gulls.

In summer the plumage, with the exception of the wings and mantle, is pure white. The mantle and most of the wing feathers are delicate bluish grey, but the three outer pairs of flight feathers are black with a white mirror towards the tip. Bill greenish with yellowish tip, legs greenish yellow. The sexes are alike, and in winter the head is flecked with brown. The young in autumn may be distinguished by the black bar on the tail and brownish wing coverts. Length about 17 in.; wing about 15 in.

THE HERRING GULL Larus argentatus, J. F. Gmelin

This is the commonest of all our Gulls, and may be found abundantly throughout the year, round all our coasts. It nests in colonies, usually on the ledges of precipitous cliffs, although small low islets are occasionally resorted to. The nest is composed of grass, seaweed, and other vegetable débris, and the eggs, three in number, are greenish brown with brown and grey markings, but they are not infrequently of a uniform pale blue. Incubation is undertaken by both sexes. The young as a rule remain in or near the nest till fully fledged, but when the nest is low down near the shore they leave it much sooner. The Herring Gull is practically omnivorous; fish, rats, crustacea, and garbage thrown up by the tide are all equally appreciated, and when nesting near colonies of Guillemots and Cormorants it systematically hunts the ledges and devours any uncovered eggs it can find. During the nesting season it is very noisy and utters a variety of cries; at times the head is bent right down and suddenly thrown up in the air with a loud "ollick, ollick," which cry is taken and repeated all over the colony. Young Gulls first commence to utter this note, which is not peculiar to the nesting season or to this species, at about three months old. If the colony be approached the birds utter a short "ow-ow"; the pairing note is a deep "mau," not unlike a cat's "miau," and a soft purring "ououou," the latter note being uttered while the bird sits down and toys with grass or other material at hand.

The adult in summer has the mantle French grey, secondaries grey tipped with white, outer primaries black with white tips and large subapical "mirrors." The rest of the plumage is white. Bill yellow with a red patch at the basal angle. Legs flesh-coloured. The female is said to be smaller than the male, but the difference is not always very apparent. In winter the head and neck are streaked with brownish.

The young in the first autumn are mottled all over with pale brown. They do not become fully adult until their fourth year, though they may sometimes breed in their third year. The adult plumage is assumed gradually, and there is much individual variation both as regards the time and method in which it is assumed. As a rule, however, some grey feathers appear on the back during the first summer; after the second autumn moult the under parts are chiefly white flecked with brown, but the back is chiefly brown. In their second summer much of the brown on the head and under parts is lost, the mantle becomes very grey, and the bill begins to show signs of yellow. The wing coverts and tail are, however, still very mottled.

After the third autumn moult the under parts, head, and neck are much as in the adult birds but more thickly mottled, the back chiefly grey, but the wing coverts, wings, and tail are still very brownish. In their third summer they are practically in adult plumage except for the wings and tail and a remnant of black on the bill. After the fourth autumn moult they are in full adult plumage except that the bill may still show some traces of black and occasionally the tail has some brown flecks, but by the time their fourth summer comes round they are in full adult plumage and breed.

Immature birds are seldom seen among colonies of adults during the summer, and it is still somewhat doubtful where they spend the summer; possibly round some islets out at sea where food is plentiful. Length 24 in.; wing 17 in.

THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL Larus fuscus, Linnæus

Very closely allied to the Herring Gull, this species is tolerably common everywhere, but is rather more local in the breeding season. In England it nests but sparingly and only in the west, but in Scotland it becomes much more abundant, and in some districts commits considerable havoc among the game-birds on the moors.

It chooses for its breeding-quarters some grassy slope on the top of the cliffs or on an islet in one of the numerous firths in the west of Scotland. In Ireland it is generally distributed and nests sparingly round the coast. In all its habits this species so closely resembles the Herring Gull that further description is unnecessary.

The adult only differs from the preceding species in being black on the mantle and wing coverts, and in the colour of the legs, which are yellow. Length 22 in.; wing 16 in.

It is almost impossible to distinguish the young of this species in their first autumn.

THE GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL Larus marinus, Linnæus

This species may be found during the winter on almost any part of our shores, but it is by no means so abundant as the Herring Gull.

As a breeding species in England it is rather scarce, chiefly owing to lack of suitable places, but in Scotland it is abundant. It is a bold and majestic species, with a fine soaring flight, but we must acknowledge that it is terribly destructive to weakly lambs and young water-fowl. Practically omnivorous, nothing comes amiss to this rapacious bird, and its food consists largely of carrion and other refuse of the shore. Although it has often been denied, this and other species of Gulls can completely immerse themselves and pick up food from the bottom in at least three feet of water, and we have repeatedly observed them do so in captivity. Having marked some food at the bottom of the water, they rise to a height of about four feet and forcibly precipitate themselves into the water with half-open wings; they are nevertheless extremely buoyant, and occasionally bob up on to the surface again before they have attained their object.

An isolated "stack" or islet in a loch is commandeered by a pair of these birds for their summer home. The nest, composed of grass and rubbish, is usually placed on the highest point. They lay two or three eggs, which are stone buff in colour, blotched and spotted with light brown and grey.

The most usual note is a deep "ow, ow, ow." In plumage the adult is almost the counterpart of the preceding, but the legs are flesh-coloured. Length 23 in.; wing 19 in.

The young are mottled and barred with various shades of brown and buff, but are rather lighter in colour than those of the Herring Gull. The adult plumage is assumed by precisely the same stages as in the other species, and they may occasionally become fully adult in their third summer.

THE GLAUCOUS GULL Larus glaucus, O. Fabricius

This large white-winged Gull is an annual visitor to the north of Scotland, but southwards it becomes scarcer, and it is only in very severe weather that it visits the south of England. Its breeding range is circumpolar, its nearest breeding-place to our shores being in Iceland.

The mantle and wings are pearl-grey, with white tips to the secondaries and outermost webs of the quills. Orbital ring vermilion. Legs pink. Immature birds are whitish uniformly and thickly mottled with ash grey. Length 29 in.; wing 18 in.

THE ICELAND GULL Larus leucopterus, Faber

This species is very closely allied in plumage and habits to the preceding. It is a winter visitor to the shores of Scotland, only coming south in severe weather. It breeds on Jan Mayen Islands and Greenland, and is only a winter visitor to the island whose name it bears.

Except in size it is almost a counterpart of the Glaucous Gull, but the orbital ring is flesh-coloured, and the legs yellowish. Length 22 in.; wing 16 in.

THE KITTIWAKE GULL Rissa tridactyla (Linnæus)

With the Kittiwake we come to a species of Gull which differs in its general build from those we have hitherto dealt with. It is rather shorter in the leg, which gives it a somewhat "squat" appearance, and it does not run about on land with the same facility. In correlation with this we find it to be a much more pelagic species, and though found commonly round our shores, it gets most of its food on the water and is rarely to be found among the large flocks of other Gulls that spend much of their time on the shore itself. Its food consists almost entirely of fish, in pursuit of which it dives and swims under water with ease.

It nests on the ledges of precipitous cliffs in immense colonies, and in some cases the population of these colonies must amount to very many thousands. The nest is built of seaweed and other flotsam, and is often larger than the narrow ledge on which it is placed. The eggs, two or three in number, are usually pale greyish white, blotched and zoned with ash grey and brown; the shell is rougher in texture than in the other species. They are laid very late in the season, so that it is generally July before the young are hatched. Both sexes take part in the incubation, and the young are entirely nidicolous, not leaving the nest till they are well able to fly.

In summer the adults very closely resemble the common Gull, but it is a smaller bird, and the black legs, on which the hind toe is absent, form an unfailing characteristic. In winter the nape and hind neck are grey like the mantle. Length 15·5 in.; wing 12 in.

The young bird in its first autumn has the nape greyish but darker than in the adult, and the wing coverts and inner secondaries are thickly spotted with brownish black.

THE IVORY GULL Pagophila eburnea (Phipps)

Some thirty or forty examples of this Arctic Gull have been taken in these islands; it is entirely circumpolar in distribution and breeds on Spitzbergen, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, and other Arctic regions.

The adult is entirely white; bill greenish grey with a red tip; legs black, the hind toe being well developed. The young bird is mostly white, but spotted on the back, wings, and tail with brownish black. Length 18 in.; wing 13 in.

THE GREAT SKUA Megalestris catarrhactes (Linnæus)

The Skuas are a group of birds closely allied to the Gulls, being very similar in general build, but both the claws and beaks are sharper and more hooked.

As a rule they chase Gulls and Terns, compelling them by so doing to disgorge their last meal; this the Skua then devours, leaving the Gull in peace to hunt for more. They are not, however, always content with this second-hand dinner, but sometimes kill and eat the Gulls themselves; they also devour offal and carrion.

The Great Skua is a scarce species, and is but seldom seen round our shores. The only breeding-stations within the United Kingdom are on two islands of the Shetlands, where it is strictly protected. During the winter, unless driven inshore by stress of weather, it keeps out at sea, remaining near the Gulls on the fishing-grounds.

The nest is a "scrape" among the heather on the highest part of some island, and the eggs, two in number, are olive brown with darker markings. In defence of their home this species is very bold, sweeping down continually at an intruder and even striking at him with their wings.

The sexes are alike, and are dark brown above with chestnut and whitish mottlings; below they are of a uniform rufous brown. The claws are hooked and sharp. Length 21 in.; wing 16 in.

The young resemble their parents.

THE POMATORHINE SKUA Stercorarius pomatorhinus (Temminck)

This bird, especially when immature, is not very rare on our eastern shores during the autumn migration in September and October, a few even wintering off our south coast. On the return migration in spring it is very rarely seen.

It breeds in Eastern Siberia and thence eastward across Arctic America to Greenland.

The adult has the head sooty black. The hind neck whitish with straw yellow acuminate feathers. Upper parts brown, two central tail feathers longer than the rest and twisted vertically. Under parts whitish, except the flanks and abdomen, which are brown. Length 21 in.; wing 14·25 in.

The young bird in its first autumn is brown mottled and barred with dull rufous. It takes more than a year to assume the full adult plumage.

THE ARCTIC OR RICHARDSON'S SKUA Stercorarius crepidatus (J. F. Gmelin)

This is the commonest of the Skuas, occurring on all the Scottish coasts and being fairly common in the east of England every autumn. In Ireland and the west of England it is only an irregular straggler.

It breeds in the Shetlands, Orkneys, and the north of Scotland, some moor at no great distance from the sea being chosen as a summer home. No nest is made, but a depression is formed in the moss or grass on which the two brownish green eggs, blotched with darker brown, are laid. The young when first hatched are covered with dark brown down.

In its habits and food it does not differ from the other Skuas.

This species is dimorphic, one form having light under parts, and the other being of a uniform sooty brown all over. The light-coloured birds predominate in the north of their breeding area and the dark ones in the south, but when they meet they breed indiscriminately, and intermediates of all shades are found. The central tail feathers are longer than the rest. Length 20 in.; wing 13 in.

The young vary considerably, but are usually brown, mottled and spotted with chestnut, while in some the chestnut colour is almost entirely wanting.

THE LONG-TAILED OR BUFFOUS SKUA Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnæus)

This is a rare species to all our shores, but a few, chiefly immature birds, visit the east coast yearly, and in some seasons become quite common. It is a circumpolar species, breeding on the tundras throughout Europe, Asia, and America, and migrating in winter as far south as the basin of the Mediterranean.

In its habits it resembles other Skuas, but in addition to robbing Gulls, it feeds largely on beetles and worms, and the young eat a large quantity of crowberries when in their summer-quarters.

The adult has the top of the head black, cheeks and hind neck buffish yellow, mantle and tail, the two central feathers of which are much elongated, grey brown, wings darker. Under parts chiefly white, brownish on the flanks and belly. Length 23 in.; tail 8·5 in.; wing 11·9 in.

Immature birds are barred above and below with brown and yellowish white. It is sometimes rather difficult to distinguish between the young of this and the preceding species; the present species is, however, always much greyer and less rufous, and has the shafts of the _two outer_ primaries _white_, the rest being _dusky_, whereas in the Arctic Skua the shafts of all the primaries are _white_.

THE RAZORBILL Alca torda, Linnæus

The Alcidæ are pre-eminently pelagic birds that spend their whole life out on the ocean except for a few short weeks every year, when they assemble in thousands on precipitous cliffs to breed.

During most of the year the Razorbill lives far out at sea in the Atlantic, never coming within sight of land unless driven inshore by some winters gale.