72 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



Roman galleys furrowed its waters, when famous 

 John Davis set sail upon his remarkable voyages 

 of discovery, when Raleigh was a dweller upon 

 its banks, or when news of the invading Spanish 

 Armada swept up its green and winding valley. 

 Very possibly the bird-life of the Dart valley was 

 of a similar character in those far-off times to 

 that existing there in our own day. Its most pro- 

 minent characteristics may be briefly summarised 

 as follows. Petrels are by no means uncommon at 

 the mouth of the Dart, chiefly' the smaller species, 

 the Procellaria pelagica of ornithologists ; whilst 

 Gulls and Terns, the latter on spring and autumn 

 passage, are more or less familiar objects. The 

 Gulls wander up the river as far as tidal limits ; 

 and we have repeatedly seen Divers and Shags 

 as high up the river as the old training-ship 

 Britannia : in fact Divers, especially during 

 winter, wander into the quiet reaches beyond 

 Dittisham and Stoke Gabriel. It would be 

 interesting to know whether any of these 

 individuals reach such localities by flights across 

 country from Tor Bay, where Divers are ex- 

 ceptionally numerous during some winters. In 

 some of the quiet back waters, more especially 



