656 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



Cottonian MS., which is also referred to in the Introduc- 

 tion, thus : " Neere unto Dobhoome (the porte in the 

 mouth of Tease so named) .... an infinite number of 

 sea-fowle laye their egges heere and there scatteringlie in 

 such sorte that in tyme of breedinge one can hardly sett his 

 foote soe warelye that he spoyle not many of their nestes " 

 (Cott. MS. 1604). The shores of the Tees estuary at that 

 time would afford very suitable nesting ground for birds of 

 this family ; old inhabitants of the district are still living 

 (1906), who can recollect the time when Terns nested in great 

 quantity, and the Common Tern would, doubtless, be one, 

 if not the most numerous of the fowl resorting there in summer. 



Willughby's allusion to the Brown Tern may be referable 

 to the young of this bird : " The Brown Tern Larus cinereus 

 minor (Aldrov). This is also the brown Tern of Mr. Johnson 

 [of Brignall, near Greta Bridge] (if I be not mistaken) whose 

 underside is all white, the upper brown ; the Wings partly 

 brown, partly ash-coloured ; the Head black ; the Tail not 

 forked. The Birds of this kind are gregarious, flying in 

 companies." (Will. " Orn." 1678, p. 352.) 



Thomas Allis, in 1844, reported as follows : 



Sterna hirundo. Common Tern Common on the coast ; seen 

 near Leeds rarely ; about Huddersfield occasionally ; Hebden Bridge 

 rarely ; not infrequent near Barnsley, where they frequent the fresh 

 water reservoirs and the course of the canals. 



The Common Tern is a visitant in spring and autumn, 

 when on its way to and from its nesting quarters, the near- 

 est of which, where it breeds in any abundance, consorting 

 with the Arctic Tern, being at the Fame Islands. The first 

 passers-by are noticed early in May ; in 1883 on the 4th of 

 that month they were observed at Spurn all day going north 

 (Fifth Migration Report). At Redcar and the Teesmouth 

 it occurs in spring, though not so frequently as in the autumn 

 when on the return passage south, and accompanied by the 

 young birds. In August it congregates in large flocks, which 

 remain on the coast, in the estuary of the Tees, and sometimes, 

 in rough weather, in the Humber, following and feeding on 

 the young herrings until nearly mid-autumn. It was more 



