The Ornithology of the Dunbar Coast, by Kobt. Gray. 55 



and Green Cormorant are well known, and the Solan Goose 

 is, as may be supposed, an object of daily occurrence, es- 

 pecially in Belhaven Bay, where it occasionally congregates 

 in thousands, and creates a bird spectacle of unusual interest 

 to inland observers. 



Thirty years ago, the Sandwich Tern was a very plentiful 

 bird off shore in autumn, but I suspect it is now rather un- 

 common. It was one of the objects of my early studies 

 when a lad at school here, and I often stood in wonderment 

 listening to the sharp cries of the birds, as they came within 

 a few yards of the strand, and plunged their breasts into the 

 rippling waves for sandeels. At that time there was a 

 beautiful stretch of sand near the back of the old harbour 

 which is now covered with stones. These autumn visitors 

 are never seen now. Some of them, no doubt ; came from 

 the Bass rock, whence I have taken their eggs, and also 

 from the adjacent rocky islets, but the greater number pro- 

 bably had just left the Fame islands, which were then one 

 of the chief haunts of the species in Britain. The Lesser 

 Tern is frequent at Tyne sands, and breeds on the coast a 

 mile or two west of the estuary. The Black Tern is rare — 

 only one or two examples having been shot. It may here, 

 however, as elsewhere, be a more frequent visitor than is 

 supposed, especially in the plumage of the first year. I have 

 seen the Little Gull on the coast repeatedly, specimens 

 having been shot at Dunbar and North Berwick. The 

 Black-headed Gull is only a winter visitant to the beach, and 

 the Kittiwake, Common Gull, Lesser Black-back, Herring 

 Gull, and Great Black-back are familiar birds along the 

 coast, as might be expected from its proximity to the Bass 

 rock and St. Abb's Head — the two nurseries for all the 

 species. The Glaucous Gull is now very often observed, 

 having, of late years, come in large numbers to the Frith of 

 Forth, from Arctic seas. The Common Skua, Pomerine, 

 and Richardson's Skua are autumn visitants ; and the Ful- 

 mar and Storm Petrels have both been driven on shore in 

 foul weather. 



In conclusion, I have to remark in connection with this 

 district, that although it has been well, and, I may add, suc- 

 cessfully investigated by various observers, no one need 

 despaii of finding new material for future papers. Since 

 the time when Mr Archd. Hepburn wrote his most interesting 



