II. 



OIT BIRDS THAT BREED ON THE SHINGLE. 



Abstract of a Paper by W. G. GRAY, 



The Curator of the Dover Museum, 



Read March iSth, 1896. 



During the first week in June, 1894, I visited the breeding 

 ground of the Terns, situated on that extensive tract of shingle 

 lying between Dungeness and Rye, and I had the opportunity of 

 seeing for myself the habits of several of the birds that breed in 

 that locality. I there found the Common Tern ( Sterna fliiviatilis) ; 

 the Lesser Tern (Sterna mifiutaj ; also the ]linged Plover 

 (j^gialitis hiaticula) ; the Redshank (Totanns calidrisj ; the 

 Lapwing ( Vanellus vulgaris) ; the Wheatear, and Skylark, most 

 of which I have brought for your inspection this afternoon, and 

 which I have made up into life histories to present to our Museum. 

 In them you will be able to see for yourselves the gi-eat resemblance 

 of the protective colouring of the birds to their surroundings, and 

 you will have some idea of the difficulty of finding either the eggs 

 or young birds on a stretch of shingle about seven miles in extent. 

 The young birds squat flat down on the ground in between the 

 stones on the least sound of footsteps on the shingle, hence their 

 comparative safety. I think there are two reasons why these 

 birds build no nest : in the first place the young need no nest after 

 they are hatched, for strange to say they disperse in opposite 

 directions several yards apart, but I tould not find out whether 

 they get together towards night to be brooded over and kept warm 

 by the parents ; secondly, their great protection lies in the eggs or 

 young being placed on the bare shingle, for if they built a nest it 

 would make a conspicuous mark on the beach that would attract 

 the notice of any person wishing to find it. 



The Common Tern (Sterna fluviatilis) usually arrives on this 

 coast about the middle of A-pril, but it has been seen in some years 

 as early as April 3rd, that being the earliest record I have been 

 able to obtain. They commence laying about the middle of May; 

 they make no nest but lay their eggs usually on the bare shingle, 

 only making a slight depression on the shingle by the action of 

 their bodies. They lay two or three eggs, usually three, but 

 I found one nest with four, a most unusual number. They seem 



