5 8 Tkotth-K. Some Nova Scotia Birds. [j^J'^J' 



low water, their white breasts glistening in the sunlight. While 

 at Barrington I saw an occasional Black-backed Gull. Some years 

 before (1897) I visited a gull rookery at Cape Split where the 

 waters of the Bay of Fundy spread into the Basin of Minas, a 

 point much farther north than Barrington. Here the ' Coffin- 

 carrier ' was quite abundant and nested in the colonies of Herring 

 Gulls on the narrow basaltic edges of the high Cape wall. In the 

 clefts and crannies of this rocky wall many wild roses were in 

 bloom which added a charming effect to the scene. I saw the 

 two species feeding together ; a number of gulls would swim in a 

 wide circle, apparently ' rounding up ' their prey, while several 

 individuals in the center were actively engaged in diving after the 

 fish. When seemingly satisfied the divers would drop back into 

 the circle of swimmers and others would take their turn at diving 

 and feeding. As far as I have been able to learn this rookery at 

 Cape Split is one of the most southerly breeding places of the 

 ^reat Black-backed Gull, which is at home with the Ice Gulls and 

 Kittiwakes of Baffin Bay. 



The terns, or ' Mackerel Gulls,' as they are called by the fisher- 

 men, are reasonably abundant in Barrington Bay and probably 

 breed on the shingle and sand beaches of Cape Island. All that 

 I saw appeared to belong to the common species — Wilson's Tern. 



The Black Duck was the only species of its kind that bred in 

 this part of Nova Scotia ; its favorite nesting haunts were the bogs 

 about lake shores and it was fairly abundant in these situations 

 during the early part of the summer. 



One of the most conspicuous inhabitants of the tidal marshes, 

 that formed wide stretches of shore land in many places along the 

 bay, was the Willet. These birds nest on the inland border of the 

 marsh where the swampy undergrowth of woods met the salt grass. 

 I had no success in finding nests and was probably too late in the 

 season. Fully fledged young birds were about early in July ; one 

 of these was shot by my son with an air rifle. The old birds were 

 noisy and vigilant until midsummer, when they disappeared from 

 these haunts and in small flocks frequented the mud flats and 

 beaches at low water. Earlier in the summer, as we tramped 

 along the inner edge of the marsh, or skirted its outer edge in a 

 boat, the shrill pill-will-JviUet call was sure to greet us ; one or 



