The Rarer Birds of the Solway Area. 431 



The Glaucous Gull, and along with it the Iceland Gull, are 

 species of which we have only some very old records. 



The Skuas, Richardson's, Buffon's, and the Pomatorhine. 

 They are a curious race of rapacious gulls, which follow weaker 

 ones, make them disgorge their prey, which they then seize before 

 it reaches the water. Richardson's occurs most often, Buffon's is 

 an occasional visitor, and the Pomatorhine is the least common. 



Those who have had an opportunity of going on the Solway 

 in a trawler or whammel boat will have seen the Fulmar, which 

 comes within two or three miles of our coast, confining its feeding 

 grounds entirely to the channel a few miles out. Along with it 

 may be seen the Manx Shearwater. 



The Black Guillemot has been suspected of breeding on the 

 rocks at the mouth of Luce Bay, but the fact has not been 

 authenticated. 



The Storm Petrel and the Fork-tailed Petrel — Curious birds 

 of ill omen, which follow vessels in time of distress. Occasion- 

 ally on a very dark day in November I have seen the second 

 named flying around Southerness point in small parties, evidently 

 mistaking the gloom of mist and rain for the shades of evening 

 coming on, most of them being nocturnal. 



III. 



Breeding Rarities. 



The first I mention of this class is the Pied FlycMtcher, 

 which was supposed to be confined to Westmorland and Derby- 

 shire, but within a short period of about 20 years it has been 

 found breeding in our area. It is a specially interesting little 

 bird. 



The Lesser Whitethroat is of peculiar interest as a Scottish 

 species. I remember reading in a paper given to this Society by 

 a gentleman from Moniaive that it was pretty common round 

 there, but whatever species may have been mistaken for it, it 

 certainly was not the lesser whitethroat. In all my experience I 

 have onlv met with it on two occasions, and although I have 

 heard its peculiar note at times all my endeavours to get a local 

 specimen have failed. A few months ago I addressed the 

 Natural History Society of Glasgow, and said that probably 

 Eskdale was the furthest northern station where the lesser white- 

 throat would l)e found fairly regularly as a breeding species. 



