356 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



autumn, winter, and spring a flock of Ringed Plovers frequents the sand ; 



these birds are most partial to that portion of the shore which lies under 



the promenade (from which they are easily seen), and near the body of the 



town. I have even seen some, on a wet Sunday at mid-day, running and 



pecking on the concrete surface of the old promenade, which has no sea-wall, 



is little raised above the beach, and on which some weed and gravel 



had been cast by the waves the night before. Last winter a little party of 



five or six Purple Sandpipers frequented a narrow strip of rock between the 



promenade and the sea. I noticed them first on Dec. 22nd, and the last 



on March 25th. They were always on the same reef, and as it runs at 



right angles to the tide-line, they moved along it with the water. They 



were surprisingly tame, allowing of approach within a few yards, and then 



rising, usually only to settle a few yards further away. They invariably 



kept to the rock, where their dark colour was so like that of the wrack 



which covered their feeding-ground that only their motions, or sometimes 



their weak, twittering call, so different from the sounding alarm of the 



Ring Plover, betrayed them. They waded through the pools as they fed, 



sometimes apparently swimming, and alighted on spots where only the 



floating weed showed the presence of foothold, when they were most 



picturesque objects, the yellow of the beak and legs being distinctly seen, 



and the wings (which they raised to balance themselves, displaying the 



lighter colouring underneath) contrasted with the general dull grey of the 



plumage. When persistently annoyed by dogs or some of the many 



passers by, they flew out, like the Ringed Plovers under the same pressure, 



to Conester, the well-known island reef on which the * Tower of Refuge' 



stands. The commonest gulls here are the Herring and Black-headed 



Gulls, which are found, I think, in about equal numbers in winter. The 



former species breeds in abundance on the Manx coast, and in many places, 



the station nearest to Douglas being about four miles distant. The latter 



is not known to be resident in the island, and none are ever seen here 



during the breeding-season. At all times of the year one or two Lesser 



Black-backed Gulls mingle with the Herring Gulls of the bay and harbour 



(these solitary, dark-winged birds are called "parsons" at Peel), and, more 



rarely, a Greater Black-back may be observed amongst them. At any time 



a Heron or two may be seen in the neighbourhood, but when the shore is 



left comparatively quiet they frequent the bar of rocks opposite to the 



north part of the town in the morning and evening, keeping well out on 



the edge of the tide, often on some half-submeryed tangle-covered ridge. 



I have seen as many as six together on these rocks, but one or two is more 



usual. When flying they are often set upon and mobbed by Rooks, which in 



winter come to the sands and rocks in great numbers at dawn, associating 



there with the sea-gulls. The Heron is generally called "Crane" in the 



Isle of Man A pair of Hooded Crows ("Grey-back" is the local name) 



