i 4 A BIRD COLLECTOR'S MEDLEY. 



birds seemed inclined to disregard the lure, but a second cast proved more 

 successful, and our hopes rose high as the younger of the pair was seen to be 

 heading for the boat. The old bird followed directly, the faint flesh-coloured 

 tinge upon the breast showing clearly as they crossed our bows. We were 

 fortunate in securing both, and they proved to be in splendid plumage a 

 grand addition to any collection, however choice. It is less easy than one 

 might suppose to distinguish Sandwich Terns by their size, unless they happen 

 to be consorting with another species. Their size depends so much on the 

 height at which they are flying, that their note affords a far surer means of 

 identification. It is a distinctly double note (kee-wit), very distinct from the 

 long-drawn " shree " of the Common Tern or the series of short single notes 

 uttered by the Arctic. 



I may mention here that a handkerchief knotted in the centre round a 

 stone is practically as good a decoy as a dead Tern, and will save the life of 

 many an undeserving bird. Lunch was the next item on the programme, and 

 while the victuals disappeared with business-like rapidity, we admired the fine 

 diving powers of several Gannets which were fishing in company outside the 

 bar. They were immature birds in the brown plumage. But all the artifices 

 of our companion were in vain set forth for their allurement they remained, 

 as did some Skuas, hopelessly out of range throughout the day. The Sandwich 

 Terns proved therefore the piece de resistance of our trip, and we returned home 

 without any further addition to the bag. 



We had, however, seen a Skua and a Skua once seen is not a sight to be 

 easily forgotten. There is a strange fascination about this dusky pirate of 

 the sea this tyrant who supports himself by levying toll on the hard-working 

 Gulls and Terns. At first he may be observed preening his feathers on the 

 sand unnoticing and unnoticed by the busy throng, and anon his sable form 

 has swooped amongst the snow-white flock ; some shrieking bird is singled 

 out as the victim, pursued with open beak, and forced to drop or disgorge its 

 prey. The Skua seizes the fish, and all is quiet once more. Seen as I once 

 saw it with a purple thunder-cloud for the background, and a pale green 

 sea beneath, the spectacle is impressive in the extreme. 



So a Skua became the object of our ambition ; in fact, with some 

 members of the party, the pursuit of the Skua became little short of a 

 mania. The birds seen on the Norfolk coast are mostly immature specimens 

 of Richardson's Skua, though at times one of the rarer species is secured. I 

 have twice seen the " Buffon " in the flesh ; both birds were light and speckled 

 with grey, and they can be distinguished from the commoner species by the 

 rounded tips of the two long tail feathers, and the fact that only the first two 



