British Birds in their Haunts Part 43

This is one of the most frequent of the Gulls, to be sought for in the breeding season not on the rocky sh.o.r.e 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 a.s.siduity 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 subst.i.tuted 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 sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 Ca.n.u.s

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; gra.s.sy 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 gra.s.s 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 sh.o.r.e on the approach of 'coa.r.s.e' 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 c.o.c.kney, 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 acc.u.mulate, 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 appet.i.te. 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 quant.i.ty 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 sh.o.r.e 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 ARGENTaTUS

Head and neck white, streaked in summer with light brown; tail and lower parts white; back and wings bluish ash; primaries dusky, pa.s.sing 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 surpa.s.ses 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 gra.s.s, 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 MARiNUS

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 sh.o.r.es 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 k.n.o.b 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 a.s.sails 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Herring Gull.

Little Gull, _imm._

Kittiwake [M]

Brown-headed Gull [F]

[_face p. 289._]]

[Ill.u.s.tration:

Twist Tailed or Pomatorhine Skua

Richardson's Skua

Great Shearwater

Great Skua]

SUB-FAMILY STERCORARIINae (ROBBER GULLS)

THE GREAT SKUA STERCORARIUS CATARRHaCTES

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 lat.i.tudes; 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 superst.i.tion 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 a.s.sociate 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.