344 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



Arctic tern appears to be the sand-eel or sand-lance {Ammo- 

 dytes). This rather curious fish appears in our bay occa- 

 sionally in prodigious shoals ; indeed, one of our most 

 observant fishermen lately informed me that the masses of 

 these fish he has seen on our coast exceeded by far anything 

 of the kind he ever saw, not excepting the "races" or 

 "banks" of herrings, which are described (principally by 

 sanguine ship-captains) as being something prodigious. 

 Large numbers of sand-eels are exhumed from a sandbank 

 at the mouth of the river. They are used as bait, and 

 numerous fishermen visit the bank when the tide has ebbed, 

 armed with an instrument resembling a corn-hook, with 

 which they dexterously drag to light the buried eel. I 

 witnessed a foray of this description in spring last; but 

 although this was not the first occasion, I was attracted in 

 this instance by the number of sea-fowl that fluttered over 

 the fishermen's heads, and came almost within reach of the 

 weapons in their hands. The Arctic tern, the lesser black- 

 backed gull, and the kittiwake were the species that joined 

 in the pursuit. The kittiwakes were the boldest, or rather 

 the most familiar, of the three; and at a distance, you could 

 hardly say with certainty whether the eel just brought to 

 light was destined to find the fisherman's basket or the 

 kittiwakes maw. It was almost a neck and neck race, and 

 Piscator very frequently had not much to spare. 



That large and splendid species, the great black-backed 

 gull, breeds on favourable stations all along our east coast. 

 What appears to be favourite situations are those insulated 

 rocks to which there is no access by land. On the flat and 

 grassy tops of these gigantic pillars, the black-back builds 

 and rears its progeny, which resemble the young of the her- 

 ring and other gulls. Sometimes such a " stack," as these 

 pillars are termed, is occupied by two or three pairs ; in 

 other instances a single couple hold undisputed sway, and 

 monopolise the isolated territory. When the haunt of these 

 gulls is intruded upon, the whole colony rise screaming over- 

 head, making a terrific din ; but above all the uproar, the 

 hoarse croak of the " Saddle-back" may be distinguished. 

 The lesser black-backed and herring gulls occasionally 



