Yorkshire Naturalists' Union : Annual Report, 1920. 35 



VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY SECTION. 



West Riding.— Mr. H. B. Booth writes : — Mr. F. Booth believes 

 a few pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls nested on the ' moss ' at the 

 side of Malham Tarn. I took the matter up with the gamekeeper (Mr. A. 

 Ward), who states that three nests, each containing three eggs, had been 

 seen, and he had also seen the young birds. He thought half-a-dozen 

 pairs had nested. The birds first came in 1919, when he believes some 

 nested. Mr. W. H. Parkin reported in the summer of 19 19 that he had 

 seen a number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls near Malham, and he believed 

 they were nesting in the neighbourhood. This is a new nesting species 

 for the West Riding, and is interesting in view of the curious nesting 

 distribution of this species on the eastern side of England. 



ijMr. Haigh Lumby took me to see two guUeries of the Black-headed 

 species of which we had no previous knowledge. They are in swamps 

 'three or four miles south of Clapham railway station, just past Keasden, 

 and in the direction of Bowland Knotts. The first and larger one I 

 carefully estimated at about 300 pairs. The smaller colony was about 

 three-quarters of a mile to the east, and consisted of about 80 to 90 pairs of 

 birds. From what we could learn they had been established some years. 

 The local gamekeeper informed us there was a third, and still smaller, 

 gullery further on in the direction of Bowland Knotts. 



The Eshton Herons have again nested across at Lords Wood, and I 

 hear between 20 and 30 were occupying nests this season. The small 

 heronry at Hubberholme continues about the same — seven pairs having 

 nested there this season (J. Henderson). 



Ravens have greatly increased on the fells in the North-west of the 

 Riding. On April 6th I spent several hours at Gordale Scar. During 

 most of that time two to half-a-dozen Ravens were in sight, yet I could 

 not see any sign of a nest. 



Magpies, almost unfortunately, still continue to increase, chiefly in 

 the suburbs of some of our towns and villages. I have had many reports 

 of numbers seen, the largest of which was by Mr. Geo. Priestman, who 

 carefully counted thirty Magpies leaving one small tree between Ilkley 

 and Addingham in January, 1920. 



A Great Crested Grebe frequented Malham Tarn during September, 

 and was still there on the 24th of that month (A. Ward). A pair of 

 Bramblings roosted nightly during March in a tall shrub in Saltaire 

 Park (W. H. Parkin), and a late bird of this species was seen near Den- 

 holme on April 15th (I. Colledge). 



An early nest of the Waterhen, with seven eggs, on January 17th, in 

 Lister Park, Bradford, was reported by Mr. Malone. The nesting season 

 of 1920 was cold, wet, and late ; most probably with poor results. 

 In game birds in this Riding, Red Grouse have done a little better than 

 in the very bad season of last year, and Partridges and Pheasants much 

 worse. About the ist of October many young Pheasants here were 

 little more than half -grown. 



East Riding. — Mr. E. W. Wade writes :• — An open winter, followed 

 by a wet spring, brought on the early breeding birds. Peewits were 

 nesting freely by mid March. On warren land eggs were laid during that 

 month, but in Holderness clays the early nests were washed out by heavy 

 rain, and laying was delayed till the second week of April. The Corvidae 

 ■were well to the fore in nesting, as is usual in an open wet spring. Many 

 clutches of five and six Rooks' eggs were seen by the end of March, and in 

 one nest were 10 eggs, evidently the produce of two birds, as the nest was 

 well flattened out. During 40 years' experience of Rooks' nesting 

 habits the writer has never seen such a thing before. 



The Magpie, unfortunately, has made good in Holderness. On 



1921 Jan. 1 



