THE TERNS, GULLS, AND SKUAS. 279 



Whiskered Tern. A rare straggler from the south. It 

 has been obtained half-a-dozen times only. 



Noddy. A rare visitor from the tropics, which has 

 been reported twice from Ireland. There were several 

 species of noddy in Australia, handsome birds with uni- 

 form dark plumage. They feed on fish, which are picked 

 off the shallows. 



2. THE GULLS. 



The trivial name of the Common Gull is an instance of 

 the loose employment of the prefix " common," since the 

 Common commonest of our gulls, especially during the 

 &ul1 * summer, when people visit the Channel towns, 



is the Herring-gull, the so-called common species having 

 flown north to breed. In Ireland, again, as Mr Saunders 

 points out, the commonest gull is the black-headed species, 

 also abundant all the year round on our south coast. In 

 company with both of these, this gull will follow the 

 plough, especially in rough weather, and feed on the 

 worms that it turns up ; and it will also wander up tidal 

 estuaries, though those which venture up the Thames 

 regularly as far as Battersea are, so far as I have ever 

 seen, of the black-headed species. I once saw in France, 

 near the coast, several of these gulls following the plough 

 in company with a pair of choughs, and there was a 

 good deal of fighting, though it did not appear that family 

 ties entered very much into the matter, as the gulls 

 were punishing each other severely, as well as shrieking 

 at the red-legged birds. The latter were, however, sworn 

 allies, and this gave them the better chance. At any rate, 

 the gulls presently flew to another part of the field, leaving 

 the choughs to worm in peace. This gull will, when there 

 is nothing more to its taste, eat grain and turnips, but it 

 cannot of course be treated seriously as an offender in this 

 respect ; while, on the other hand, its undoubted fondness 



