6794 Birds. 



sunny day the appearance of these birds, dotted like white specks as 

 far as the eye can reach, some wading or pitching into the shallow 

 water, others pacing up and down or flattering onwards to fresh ground, 

 their white breasts glistening in the sun, gives to the whole scene an 

 amount of life and animation that cannot fail to strike even the most 

 indifferent. At high water numbers of them are seen hovering over 

 the harbour, searching for any refuse thrown over from the boats and 

 vessels, or rounding the " Ness Point," at the mouth of the river, in 

 short flights out to sea ; and, from their generally making up for this 

 point as the sun goes down, I presume they roost amongst the neigh- 

 bouring cliffs. The old birds up to the first week in April still carried 

 more or less the gray markings on the head and neck peculiar to the 

 winter plumage, but so varied in amount that scarcely two birds 

 appeared alike. One or two young specimens also that I shot showed 

 as much diversity of colouring, both above and below, in the gradual 

 assumption of their dull dress. None of these had attained the scarlet 

 eyelid, which gives so striking an appearance to the old birds, both of 

 this and the kittiwake species, and the feet and legs were rather livid 

 than green. The gape and whole inside of the mouth in the old bird 

 is rich salmon-colour, but in the young dull green. 



Kittiwake Gull {Lams tridactylus). The first pair of this elegant 

 species I saw hovering over Torbay, and I afterwards met with several 

 at different times whilst at Teignmouth. These birds seemed to mix 

 but little with the common gulls, and frequented rather the seaward 

 side of the " Bar " than the river, though probably wending their way 

 upstream at low water. On the 25th of March I shot an old male and 

 a young one just off the mouth of the river. The adult bird still 

 carried a patch of gray on the hind neck, but was otherwise in full 

 breeding plumage ; the eyelids bright scarlet. The young one was a 

 true " tarrock," having the bars on the wings and lower part of the neck 

 behind, as well as the tips of the tail feathers brownish black ; eyelids 

 dark brown. 



Greater and Lesser Black Backs and Herring Gulls. Just after my 

 arrival at Teignmouth, it blew a perfect gale from off the sea for a day 

 or two, which drove the larger gulls in great numbers into the harbour. 

 Fine old birds of both greater and lesser blackbacks passed and repassed 

 the long bridge, lazily floating on their wide expanse of wing, their 

 pure " black and white " showing nobly in the sun. These, however, 

 soon departed as the storm went down, and as soon almost as it was 

 possible to take a boat up the river they had returned again to the 

 " bosom of the deep," leaving only a straggler here and there amongst 



