A LIST OF THE BIRDS OF BERWICK-ON-TWEED 87 



COMMON GULL, Larus canus, Linnaeus. Abundant throughout 

 the year, although it does not, of course, breed anywhere in the 

 district. 



HERRING GULL, Larus argentatits, J. F. Gmelin. Another 

 abundant species at all seasons. A few pairs only nest at the Fame 

 Islands, but along the coast of Berwickshire it is by far the most 

 numerous gull during the breeding season. Mr. Muirhead states 

 that the most southern nesting station in the county is at the " Gull 

 Rock," " about a mile north of Burnmouth Village " ; I have, how- 

 ever noticed a few pairs sometimes breeding to the south of the 

 village, and within about a mile and a half of the limits of the 

 borough. 



LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus fuscus, Linnaeus. This is 

 also a common resident, visiting the harbour and lower reaches of 

 the Tweed at all seasons. As a breeding species it occupies 

 exactly the opposite position to the Herring Gull, being abundant 

 on the Fame Islands, almost to the exclusion of Larus argentatiis, 

 and a mere interloper upon the cliffs of Berwickshire. 



GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus marinus, Linnaeus. A pair 

 or two of these most handsome birds may usually be seen about the 

 harbour, and, as it occurs occasionally in summer, it must be con- 

 sidered a resident species. It is most numerous during winter, and 

 in early spring, sometimes assembling in flocks of a dozen or even 

 more together, particularly upon the sands from Scremerston south- 

 wards. It haunts the Tweed in pairs between Berwick and Kelso, 

 and, together with the two last-mentioned species, levies a somewhat 

 heavy toll upon the descending smolts in spring. Flying at an 

 elevation of a few feet above the water, the Gulls descend head fore- 

 most upon the little fish, and with sufficient force to frequently 

 disappear entirely from view beneath the surface. More commonly 

 only the head and fore part of the body go under ; while, when the 

 dive is of medium depth, the tips of the wings, which are always 

 thrown backwards at nearly their full expanse, are the only parts 

 visible, looking then like a couple of small branches, about a foot 

 apart, sticking up above the water. 



GLAUCOUS GULL, Larus glaucus, O. Fabricius. An irregular 

 winter visitant, appearing not uncommonly in some years ; birds in 

 the first plumage being most prevalent, adults much scarcer, and 

 the intermediate stages rarer still. An adult in my collection was 

 shot on Yarrow Slake, in December 1878, others were observed here 

 in December 1879, and one on i5th October 1881. On loth 

 February 1895, I saw the remains of a very fine one upon the sands 

 at Scremerston, and another was caught alive at Spittal about the 

 same time. These were all adults, and several others might be 

 mentioned. In March 1895, I found a dead example, in the second 



