The Zoologist— October, 1874. 4193 



The 5lh of July we devoted to the south end of the island : here 

 the terns, from having their nests continually robbed, are later in 

 hatching out their young than those at the north end. We found 

 Sterna fluviatilis much more numerous than S. Hirundo, and I may 

 here mention that six specimens which the hgbthouse-keeper shot 

 for me subsequent to my visit were all of the former species. We 

 examined about forty nests, and found them in every case lined 

 with a few fragments of the coarse grass which grows abundantly 

 on the sand-hills. On some low grassy dunes, about a hundred 

 yards above high-water mark, we found a tern's nest, composed 

 entirely of little bits of drift-wood, containing two eggs. There 

 were no other nests in the immediate vicinity, but several old birds 

 (S. fluviatilis) were seen close by. It may be remembered that 

 on the 31st of May, 1864, Mr. Harliug found on Walney Island 

 a tern's nest composed of drift-wood and sand-grass, and that he 

 believed it belonged to Sterna Dougallii (see Zool. 9156); but in a 

 letter lately received from that gentleman he tells me that Sterna 

 fluviatilis occasionally makes its nest of these materials. I believe 

 we saw specimens of the roseate tern near the lighthouse, but 

 I could not satisfactorily identify any, and it is generally impossible 

 to distinguish its eggs from those of the other species, unless the 

 owner be secured. Here, as at the north end, the lesser terns had 

 flown, and we only saw two pairs. 



We found four young oystercatchers on the west coast ; they are 

 very difficult to discover, as they conceal themselves cleverly 

 by squatting among the large round stones, which they closely 

 resemble in colour. The old birds were very clamorous, using 

 every device to draw us awa}'. The development of the beak 

 must be very rapid in this species, as in one specimen I examined, 

 which was just attaining its wing-feathers, it showed scarcely any 

 signs of its peculiar elongated and wedge-shaped form. Geldart, 

 the lighthouse keeper, and a very intelligent man, who is well 

 acquainted with the birds that breed on the south end of the 

 island, assured us that flocks of oystercatchers frequent Foulney 

 and Walney Islands all through the spring, so from some reason 

 or other there must be many barren birds. 



From Walney we crossed in the lighthouse-keeper's boat to 

 Foulney Island. Here we found large flocks of oystercatchers (old 

 and young), curlews, blackheaded and herring gulls, and a small 

 flock of immature gray plovers ; also a (evf ringed plovers on the 



