90 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



most of their time upon the water, only visiting 

 land for any lengthened period during the breeding 

 season. 



There can be little doubt that the Gray 

 Phalarope is a more abundant visitor to British 

 waters, in autumn and winter, than is generally 

 supposed. It has little reason to visit land at all 

 at such a season, unless driven towards it by 

 exceptionally severe weather. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, this Phalarope has occurred on our coasts in 

 great numbers, something similar to the visitations 

 of Sand Grouse, with which doubtless most readers 

 are familiar. The autumn of 1866 is specially 

 famous for a great " rush " of Gray Phalaropes 

 to the British seas and coasts, and it is estimated 

 that upwards of 500 were caught, of which large 

 number nearly half occurred in Sussex ! The 

 most recent irruption of Gray Phalaropes was in 

 1886. The Gray Phalarope lives almost entirely 

 out at sea, after the breeding season is over, 

 wandering immense distances from land, and even 

 accompanying whales, for the sake of catching the 

 various small marine creatures disturbed by the 

 u blowing " of those mighty animals hence to the 

 sailor it is often known as the ''Whale Bird." So 

 hardy is this little bird, that it has been watched 

 swimming about amongst icebergs far from land. 

 It swims lightly and buoyantly as a foam fleck, with 

 a peculiar bobbing motion of the head, but it is 

 not known to dive. It apparently flies with 



