524 Pellcanidce. 



towards Bath, which came into his collection; for the second 

 instance I am indebted to the daughter of Captain Meredith, 

 who informed me of one killed at Heddington about 1856. The 

 Rev. G. Powell told me that early in September, 1870, during 

 the prevalence of violent gales, a Gannet, doubtless blown inland 

 by the tempest, was knocked down by a labourer on Mr. Wood- 

 cock's farm at Bemerton, and came into the collection of 

 Mr. James Rawlence, of Bulbridge. Mr. Powell saw the bird 

 when it arrived at the bird-stuffer's at Warminster, and described 

 it as emaciated and starved. Subsequently, in July, 1874, I 

 received a letter from the Rev. Gray Lawson, informing me that 

 one was shot by Mr. Nippress at Littleton Drew, at the extreme 

 north-west of the county, in a pasture adjoining the churchyard, 

 in the previous month. Canon Jackson also wrote to me to the 

 same effect, at the same date, alluding without doubt to the 

 same specimen, but mentioning the adjoining parish of Luckington 

 as the scene of its capture. The Right Hon. E. P. Bouverie tells 

 me he has a specimen which was shot on Cheverell Down, in 

 November, 1881, and Mr. Grant mentions another shot at 

 Netheravon by Mr. Newman. For the marvellous account of 

 this bird, as imagined in olden time by an advanced naturalist 

 in Norway, I must again refer my readers to the pages of Bishop 

 Pontoppidan. 



LARIDJE (THE GULLS). 



We have now reached the last family of birds, and it is a very 

 large one, comprising the great tribe of Terns, the still larger list 

 of Gulls, and the Petrels. They are all long- winged, and enjoy 

 a prodigious power of flight, which is not only extremely rapid, 

 but can be indefinitely prolonged and apparently without 

 exertion, at all events without causing fatigue. They are all 

 web-footed, and seek their food on the surface of the sea or on 

 the shore where it has been washed up by the waves ; but 

 though they float with buoyancy on the ocean, they are unable 

 to dive. They are consequently rather birds of the air than of 

 the water, and their evolutions on the wing are extremely 



