A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



more abundant in some years than in others. 

 After gales in spring and autumn great flights 

 have appeared on our estuaries in a weak and 

 exhausted condition. 



257. Little Tern. Sterna minuta, Linn. 

 Adults of this small tern are rarely seen 



in breeding plumage, and generally occur 

 singly in the summer months, whilst adults 

 in winter plumage and young birds of the 

 year are met with in small flocks in the 

 autumn on the south coast. It is a scarce 

 species on the north Devon coast. Many 

 pairs breed on the Chesil Bank in the neigh- 

 bouring county of Dorset. 



258. Sabine's Gull. Xema sabinii (Joseph 



Sabine) 

 Less than a dozen examples of this gull, all 

 in immature plumage, have occurred on the 

 south coast of Devon in the month of 

 October, It has not yet been met with on 

 the north coast, though it has occurred on the 

 neighbouring coast of Somerset. An adult 

 assuming winter dress was seen near the 

 Eddystone Lighthouse on 29 September 

 1901 by Mr. Eagle Clarke. 



259. Little Gull. Larus minutus, Pallas. 

 This small gull has frequently been ob- 

 tained on the coasts of Devonshire in autumn 

 and winter, i.e. August to February. The 

 examples met with are generally in immature 

 plumage. The little gull occasionally wanders 

 inland, following the course of some river. 

 It is much less frequently seen on the north 

 coast than on the south. 



260. Black-headed Gull. Larus ridibundus, 



Linn. 

 Locally^ Peewit Gull, Maddrick Gull, Red- 

 legged Gull. 



Although there is no ' gullery ' in Devon- 

 shire, this species is extremely plentiful on 

 our coasts and estuaries, from which it is 

 seldom altogether absent, except in severe 

 frost. Towards the end of July large flocks 

 of old and young birds arrive from the 

 breeding places (the most western one of 

 which is on the north of Poole Harbour in 

 Dorset) and remain all the winter on our 

 estuaries, at times visiting the ploughed fields 

 far inland. When the marshes have been 

 flooded, great flocks of this gull assemble to 

 feed on the drowned worms. Numbers may 

 always be seen fluttering over the sewage 

 outfalls of our sea coast towns. About the 

 middle of April, on the Exe estuary, the 

 greater part leave for nesting purposes, but 

 many non-breeding birds remain all the 

 summer there. At Plymouth most of the 



black-headed gulls leave by the middle of 

 March, and until 26 July 1882 Mr. Gat- 

 combe had never seen any there in summer. 

 They also quit the Kingsbridge estuary early 

 in the spring. 



261. Great Black-headed Gull. Larus ich- 



thyaHus, Pallas. 

 The only example of this large gull which 

 has occurred in the British Islands was shot 

 at Exmouth at the end of May or the 

 beginning of June 1859. The specimen is 

 now in the Albert Memorial Museum at 

 Exeter. 



262. Common Gull. Larus canus, Linn. 

 Locally, Sea Mew, Winter Mew, Barley-Bird, 



Coddy Noddy (young). 



An autumn and winter visitor to our coasts 

 and estuaries from August to the middle of 

 April, when for the most part the common 

 gulls leave for their breeding places, a few 

 remaining on the coasts as late as May, and 

 rarely to June and July. The ' sea mew ' is 

 most familiar to us in its winter plumage, 

 only a few examples being met with in the full 

 summer dress late in the spring. At Ply- 

 mouth it is most plentiful in March, and is 

 then seen in pairs. It is not improbable that 

 some pairs may occasionally nest in suitable 

 spots both on the north and south coasts of 

 the county. For some reason this gull has 

 disappeared from the upper part of the estuary 

 of the Exe, where it was formerly to be 

 constantly seen in winter, feeding in flocks on 

 the shingle at low water, its place having 

 been taken by the black-headed gull. It is 

 known as the ' barley bird ' in some parts of 

 the county, as it visits the freshly ploughed 

 fields about the time of barley sowing, seeking 

 food turned up by the plough. It goes as far 

 inland in spring as the centre of Dartmoor, 

 where solitary pairs may soiretimes be seen. 



263. Herring Gull. Larus argentatus, J. F. 



Gmelin. 

 Locally, Ladram Gull (on the Exe), Wagel 

 (young). 

 A very abundant species breeding in con- 

 siderable numbers on the cliffs along the south 

 coast from Sidmouth to Plymouth. One of 

 these nesting places is at Ladram Bay 

 (between Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton) ; 

 another at Berry Head ; and one at Wem- 

 bury at the mouth of the Yealm. On the 

 north coast the great breeding stations are at 

 Baggy Point and Lundy Island. During the 

 winter great numbers visit the freshly 

 ploughed fields inland during the day, re- 

 turning at dusk to the sea-clif& to roost. 



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