BRITISH BIRDS. 



I8 7 



exceed the clean, clear, and glossy whiteness of 

 its close-set feathers on the under parts of the 

 body; but the upper plumage is of a plain sober 

 lead-coloured grey. The egg is a little more than 

 an inch in length, of a dirty yellowish brown, 

 dashed all over with reddish blotches. 



This bird is met with in the summer months 

 on all our coasts, also about the Baltic, in some 

 parts of Russia, the River Irtish in Siberia, the 

 Black and Caspian Seas, and in America near 

 New York, &c. In Belon's time, "the fishermen 

 floated a cross of wood, in the middle of which 

 was fastened a small fish for bait, with limed 

 twigs stuck to the four corners, on w T hich the 

 bird darting, was entangled by the wings/' 



