BIRDS 
so closely with their environment as to be 
very difficult to detect among the sand bents, 
are chiefly fed upon sand eels and other small 
fishes ; but an old bird (which I happened to 
open) had only been feeding on small bivalve 
shells, 
224. Roseate Tern. Sterna dougalli, Montagu. 
A rare visitant. A fine male was shot 
near the point of Burgh Marsh on July 26th, 
1834. It was identified by Mr. T. C. Hey- 
sham, 
225. Common Tern. 
mann. 
Locally, Sea-Swallow, Jerky, Pickman (0s.). 
Quantities of this summer visitant nest 
among the sand-hills at Drigg, which possesses 
the largest establishment of these birds in the 
county ; but a smaller colony has existed for 
many years on Rockliffe Marsh, as noted by 
Mr. T. C. Heysham as long ago as 1834. 
In this latter locality the eggs are simply 
deposited on the sand at the edge of the marsh 
or on the greensward. I have seen birds of 
the year which had been procured as late as 
November in the interior of the county. 
Sterna fluviatilis, Nau- 
226. Arctic Tern. Sterna macrura, Naumann. 
A spring and autumn visitant, most abund- 
ant in our waters during August and September, 
though probably a few pairs nest at Raven- 
glass. A photo of a bird taken at Drigg 
during the summer of 1898 seems to be that 
of an undoubted arctic tern, and the bird in 
question was sitting on her eggs. But I was 
never able to identify this tern among the 
hundreds that nest under the protection of 
Lord Muncaster. 
227. Little Tern. Sterna minuta, Linn. 
A summer visitant, nesting numerously at 
Drigg and in increasing numbers near Silloth. 
A pair or two usually nest about Grune Point 
also. When the warrens which abut upon 
the precincts of this little seabird are invaded 
the birds rise in the distance from the beach 
and wheel round in lofty circles screaming 
their displeasure in harsh cries resembling the 
syllables ‘yaak yaak,’ occasionally prefaced 
by ‘tuk, tuk, tuk.’ If the threatened danger 
be withdrawn some of the birds will alight 
upon a ridge of the sea beach in the midst of 
a pile of debris, seaware, etc., while the re- 
mainder hover over the sands, curvetting with 
much velocity, and often skimming over the 
surface almost like swallows. 
228. Sabine’s Gull. Xema sabinii (J. Sabine), 
A specimen of this high arctic bird was shot 
upon Rockliffe Marsh, September, 29th, 1893, 
under the following circumstances. A local 
gunner named William Routledge was lying 
up in a creek on the marsh waiting for a shot 
at golden plover, as the tide was rising and a 
strong south-west wind blowing, when the 
Sabine’s gull rose off the Esk in which it had 
been swimming about 11 a.m., and flew in 
the direction of the wildfowler, travelling 
slowly against the wind. ‘The bird did not 
notice Routledge, but flew so close past him 
that he might almost have felled it with his 
gun. Noticing the forked tail barred with 
black, and thinking that it must be a strange 
bird, he waited until it was a fair distance 
from him, and then fired and brought it down. 
He and Thomas Peal brought it to me on the 
following day, enquiring if it was some 
variety of tern. It looked no larger than a 
pigeon as it lay on my table in the flesh, but 
measured twelve inches and ahalf. The tarsi 
were pale grey; the webs of the feet pale 
yellowish ; the claws dull black, irides dark 
brown ; interior of mouth bright yellow ; bill 
black, but the basal portion yellowish. ‘The 
body was well nourished, but a good many 
ticks adhered to the feathers. It was preserved 
for the Carlisle Museum. 
229. Little Gull. 
A rare visitant, chiefly noticed in the neigh- 
bourhood of the Solway Firth, but of occa- 
sional occurrence inland, though never appar- 
ently procured among the larger lakes of the 
county. ‘The specimens obtained since the 
publication of the Fauna of Lakeland in 1892, 
include the following : an immature bird shot 
on October 25th, 1893, on Rockliffe Marsh 
by a gunner named Park, and sent to me in 
the flesh by the late Alfred Smith of Castle- 
town; a similar bird sent to me by Irving 
Murray, of Priestside near Annan, January 
13th, 1894; a very interesting bird, which 
had begun to moult in adult wing-quills, shot 
at Skinburness by W. Nicol, June 29th, 1894, 
and sent to me before the delicate rosy tint 
had begun to fade from the feathers of the 
breast ; a very young specimen shot on the 
north side of the Esk near Rockliffe by 
Thomas Peal, September 16th, 1896 (the first 
that I had handled in the flesh in nest feather) ; 
Mr. T. Mann presented to me a very young 
bird which he had shot on the coast between 
Allonby and Mowbray, October 9th, 1896 ; 
yet another nearly mature bird was shot by 
T. Peal near Bowness-on-Solway, December 
30th, 1897. 
Larus minutus, Pallas. 
213 
