A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE 



The late Dr. Macaulay shot an immature specimen 

 at Saddington Reservoir on 9 Aug., 1887, and a female 

 in winter plumage was shot at the same place on 

 IJ Oct., 1887, by Mr. A. K. Perkins, who presented 

 it to the museum. When driving with a party of 

 friends near Groby Pool on 16 May, 1889, our 

 attention was attracted by a gull flying over the water. 

 Watching its flight for some time, it repeatedly came 

 quite near to us, giving us all a very good view of its 

 dark head, and I had not the slightest hesitation in 

 pronouncing it to be a black-headed gull in summer 

 plumage. Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : ' On 

 5 May, 1903, I saw eleven of these gulls in breeding 

 plumage on floods in Welland Valley below Med- 

 bourne.' 



1 94. Common Gull. Larui canus, Linn. 



Of accidental occurrence, especially after stormy 

 weather on the east coast. Mr. Babington (Potter, 

 op. cit. App. p. 70) said : ' Often seen and shot ; flocks of 

 gulls, probably L. rissa as well as this, frequently fly 

 over Thringstone after violent storms. None except 

 the common gull have fallen into my hands.' 



I am sorry I cannot endorse this statement, very 

 few but kittiwakes having come under my observation. 

 I saw at Pinchen's a fully mature specimen which 

 was shot at Wigston on 1 6 Aug., 1889, and two days 

 later I saw five gulls of some kind fly over Wigston. 

 Mr. How informs me that he saw at Pinchen's a 

 specimen said to have been shot at Frisby early in 

 December, 1892. Mr. G. Frisby writes on 27 July, 

 1906 : 'A young common gull was shot upon the 

 Fishpond here and brought to me for identification.' 

 Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : 'Three gulls of 

 this species were seen by me on 5 May, 1903, on 

 floods below Medbourne, in the Welland Valley.' 



195. Herring Gull. Larus argentatus, J. F. Gmelin. 



Potter, the taxidermist of Billesdon, reported a 

 specimen caught alive by Mr. W. Hart, of Rolleston, 

 in September, 1869, and if this be correct it creates 

 a new record, whilst it is highly probable that some 

 of the large gulls which I and others have seen every 

 spring flying over Leicester are of this species. 

 Mr. W. J. Horn writes in 1907 : 'In April, 1901, 

 numerous in the flooded meadows near Rockingham, 

 in fact they are nearly always to be seen in the valley 

 when the Welland is in flood. In the last week of 

 February, 1902, it was reported to me, " Scores of 

 gulls in the Welland Valley. They were probably of 

 this species." ' 



196. Lesser Black-backed Gull. Larus fuscus, Linn. 



A rare straggler from the coast. The late Rev. A. 

 Evans recorded in his notes the occurrence of a 

 specimen on Groby Pool in 1850. In the autumn of 

 1880 I saw an adult specimen, said to be from 

 Bradgate, in the hands of a man named Donnell. 

 Three immature specimens, one shot at Somerby in 

 1880, one at Melton in 1881, and another obtained 

 at Claybrook in 1900, are in the museum. 



197. Greater Black-backed Gull. Larus marinus, 



Linn. 



Locally, Cob. 



Mr. O. Murray-Dixon again creates a new record 

 for the county, having shot one of this species on 



4 Sept., 1905, at Swithland Reservoir. Mr. W. J. 

 Horn writes in 1907: 'On 16 April, 1894, two 

 seen by me soaring over the canal near Hinckley.' 



198. Kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla (Linn.). 



Of accidental occurrence in spring and autumn. 

 Mr. Babington (Potter, op. cit. App.) recorded its 

 occurrence at Bardon, and Harley wrote : ' Occurred 

 on the Soar, 1854,3)80 on Groby Pool and elsewhere 

 in the county.' A mounted specimen presented to 

 the museum by Mr. H. J. Bellairs on 7 June, 1852, 

 is noted in the donation-book as having been found 

 dead at Evington ; another is noted under date 

 9 March, 1 86 1 , as having been ' shot at Upton.' The 

 Midland Naturalist (1880, p. 43) recorded that one 

 was shot by Mr. Warner's keeper in a field near the 

 Sewage Works on 1 9 January, a fourth was found dead 

 in the Abbey Meadow on 7 Feb., 1881, and a fifth was 

 obtained at Melton Mowbray in 1 88 1. The late 

 Dr. Macaulay mentioned one shot at Gumley on 

 3 Jan., 1880, and another an adult female in 

 winter dress which is now in the museum, shot 

 by Mr. Thomas Aulay Macaulay on Saddington 

 Reservoir, 15 Sept., 1 88 1. Mr. Davenport says two 

 immature specimens were shot at Ashlands in Sep- 

 tember, 1 88 1, and he shot another, fully mature, 

 flying over the house at Ashlands some time in 1886. 

 I saw an adult specimen in the hands of Pinchen, 

 which was shot at Braunstoneon 14 April, 1888. Mr. 

 W. T. Tucker shot one on a pit at the brickworks, 

 Loughborough, on 1 8 Nov., 1889. He had the bird 

 set up, and then took a rough photograph of it, which 

 he sent to me together with a description and measure- 

 ments of the specimen, and from these I have no 

 doubt it is a kittiwake in change of plumage. 

 Dr. Macaulay reported an immature specimen shot at 

 Carlton Curlieu, 1 1 Dec., 1891. Mr. W. J. Horn 

 writes in 1907: ' In Zoo/. 1868, p. 1213, Mr. 

 Theodore Walker writes: " A specimen was shot at 

 the West Bridge in Leicester, during March."' 



[Common Skua. Stercorarius catarrhactcs (Linn.). 



An autumn and spring visitant, but of rare and acci- 

 dental occurrence inland. Mr. Babington (Potter, op. 

 cit. App. p. 70), said : ' One shot near Wymeswold, 

 December, 1841. Communicated by Mr. Potter,' 

 and Harley wrote : ' This species of Lcstris has been 

 captured in the county, but the visit of the creature 

 must ever be considered unusual and irregular. The 

 bird appeared in the month of October, 1846, during 

 the prevalence of a heavy gale from the N.W.' The 

 occurrence in the county of Leicester of the ' common ' 

 skua, probably one of the rarest of the skuas, must 

 stand or fall upon Mr. Babington's note, as in October, 

 1846, Harley evidently could not discriminate 

 between this bird and the pomatorhine skua, from the 

 fact that in November, 1 846, he admitted that he 

 had misnamed the one recorded by him (see follow- 

 ing species), which he had wrongly pronounced to be 

 the common skua.] 



199. Pomatorhine Skua. Stercorarius pomatorblnut 



(Temminck). 



Locally, Pomarine skua (by error). 



A rare straggler from the coast. Harley related 

 that one was shot near Leicester, in November, 1846, 

 and being merely wounded was kept some time in a 



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