NOTES FROM DEVON AND CORNWALL. 421 



swimming not far from the surface. I think what he said must be 

 true, but I must say that I myself have never seen gulls dive. 



On the day I visited Wembury a specimen of the Pomatorhine 

 Skua was brought to the Stonehouse birdstuffer, which had been 

 killed near the Manacles off the coast of Cornwall. It was a 

 young bird of last year, and in very interesting plumage. The 

 person who shot it said that he saw it attack and rob several 

 gulls, which it ultimately frightened away. In order to bring 

 the skua within shot he flung out several fish, but it would 

 not deign to touch them. After flying round for a long time, 

 however, he managed to get a chance, and brought it down. I do 

 not remember having seen a specimen of this skua on our coast 

 at this time of the year before, but there had been some very 

 severe gales from the north for several days previously. The 

 same person told me that on one occasion he saw a Shearwater (?) 

 actually kill a small Gull on the water. 



On June 22nd I examined a male Storm Petrel which had 

 been knocked down and killed by a Herring Gull when flying 

 about in the Great Western Docks at Plymouth. The Gull 

 knocked it down twice, and when picked up by a man in a boat 

 it was found that the top of its skull was quite bare from the force 

 of the blows. The stomach was empty ; the testes much enlarged. 

 On the 24th the entrance of the harbour was full of gulls, and I 

 observed upwards of two hundred resting on the rocks of Drakes 

 Island and as many more settled on the water, feeding on shoals 

 of small fry, with almost the same number flying round and 

 constantly dipping after their prey. They were for the most part 

 non-breeding Herring Gulls, with a few of Lesser Black-backed 

 Gulls in immature plumage. 



On July 18th I observed a number of Black-headed Gulls on 

 the St. Germans River, which had already returned from their 

 breeding-haunts ; and by the 27th of the month Common Sand- 

 pipers were heard passing overhead at night. During the day I 

 witnessed a large flight of Sand Martins flying north-west ; wind 

 north, and weather very fine. 



On August 2nd a young Greenshank was brought to the 

 Stonehouse birdstuffer which had been shot in the neighbourhood. 

 Its knees were very thick, similar to those of the Norfolk Plover, 

 and which I have also remarked to be the case with the young of 

 the Green Sandpiper. Its stomach was quite empty. I had 



