WITH THE SEA BIRDS AT TENBY 223 



a small stack rock. One we see is in immature 

 plumage and therefore certainly not breeding, but 

 the other is a fine adult bird, possibly a male, and if 

 so, may have a partner somewhere at hand. 



Just at this point we notice a bird which puzzles us 

 entirely — a little fellow about the size of a Summer 

 Snipe, but curiously barred on the back and scapulars 

 with white ; indeed, it remains a mystery to us at 

 the present moment. It may have been some kind 

 of Phalarope, but of this we are uncertain, as we 

 have but a fleeting glimpse as it flies seawards. 



We advance over the shingle towards the grassy 

 slopes of the cliffs. The " yak, yak, yak " of the 

 graceful Herring Gulls resounds on all sides and 

 quite fills the air ; their nests we stumble across at 

 every step, containing for the most part fresh eggs. 

 Some more venturesome than the rest sweep past 

 our heads, literally within arm's length, uttering 

 harsh, angry cries. 



Indeed, this species pretty well represents the 

 Gull tribe here, though we notice with pleasure one 

 pair of those charmingly beautiful birds, the Lesser 

 Black Back, and further have the good fortune to 

 discover their nest, which, built on a grassy slope of 

 the cliff, is quite apart from the Herring Gull's homes. 

 The eggs of these two species are practically indis- 

 tinguishable, so, to " mak siccar," we watch one of 

 the Black Backs to its nest, and then all doubt 

 vanishes on the point. This nest contains three eggs, 

 of which two are highly incubated, the third addle, 

 and they are all certainly smaller than any of the 

 Herring Gulls' eggs we have seen to-day. Perhaps 



