the head, nape, breast, and centre of belly; the mantle is blueish grey,
and the region of vent white. The wing-quills are dark grey bordered with
a lighter shade, and the tail-feathers dark grey. The eye is brown, beak
greyish black with red base, and foot brownish red. In the winter dress,
only the back of the head and nape are black, the forehead and under part
being white. In young birds the mantle-feathers and wing-covers are edged
with reddish yellow. The length of this species is nine inches, span of
wings twenty-six inches. The Black Tern inhabits the north temperate zone,
and during the winter wanders so far south, that, like _Sternula minuta_,
it is to be met with in four continents--Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America. It makes its appearance in Great Britain at the same time as the
other Terns, but is much less abundant than formerly, being seldom seen in
the North of England and very rarely in Scotland, although it still visits
many parts of Ireland. It arrives in this country about the end of April
or beginning of May, and is principally found in Lincolnshire, Norfolk,
and Cambridgeshire. In Montagu's time it was common in Romney Marsh, in
Kent; specimens have also been procured in other southern counties. During
their winter peregrinations these birds generally travel in companies
varying from twenty to about a thousand individuals, following the course
of the streams, and taking up a temporary residence wherever these spread
out into extensive swamps or overflow the neighbouring land. In their
deportment, food, and mode of breeding, they also differ materially from
the Common Terns. They walk seldom, and as badly as their brethren, and
rarely swim, as their powers in that respect are very limited. Their
flight is not so rapid and devious as that of their congeners, but more
even, gentle, and light. During the night season they betake themselves
to repose, but in the daytime are constantly on the wing, hunting after
food. The Black Terns live almost exclusively upon insects, although they
will also occasionally seize a little fish or other small inhabitant of
the water. They somewhat resemble the Swallows in their mode of life,
and like them may be seen skimming over pools of water, apparently more
for the sake of amusement than from any real necessity for such active
exertion. When they discover anything in the shape of food, they hover
over it for an instant and pounce upon their prey, not coming down upon it
precipitately and perpendicularly as some of the Divers do, but sweeping
obliquely towards it, so as to seize it with the beak without immersing
their bodies. According to Montagu, "The flight of this species is not
unlike that of the Goatsucker; its evolutions are rapid and it turns short
if attacked, by which means it escapes the talons of predaceous birds,
as we once had an opportunity of witnessing. In a very hard gale of wind
many Terns were sporting over the water, when a Peregrine Falcon passed
like a shot, singled out his bird and presently coming up with the chase,
made a pounce, but the great dexterity of the Tern avoided the deadly
stroke and took a new direction. The Falcon, by his superior velocity,
soon regained sufficient elevation to successively repeat his pounces, but
at last relinquished the pursuit." The Black Terns, unlike the generality
of their congeners, are fearless and unsuspicious, and seem rather to
welcome than to avoid the presence of mankind; if molested, however, they
soon become more wary. Towards each other they manifest considerable
affection, and should one of their party be shot, the others instantly
collect around their wounded companion, not from any sinister motives,
as has been asserted by some writers, but out of commiseration for his
condition. For their breeding-places these birds invariably choose some
wide swamp or morass, placing their nests upon little heaps of mud that
project above the surface of the water, upon tufts of grass or sedge, upon
floating masses of reeds, rushes, or similar materials, or sometimes on
the floating leaves of aquatic plants. The nest itself is constructed of
substances that vary with the locality selected, such as leaves, roots and
rushes heaped carelessly together. In this cradle, about the beginning
of June, each pair lays two, three, or four eggs; these are of a pale
olive or yellowish colour, spotted with grey, reddish brown, and brownish
black. Both sexes incubate by turns, keeping the eggs constantly covered.
If disturbed during the breeding season, these Terns are as noisy as any
of their congeners, but unlike them remain close over the nest and only
go in search of food at regular intervals. After the lapse of fourteen
or sixteen days the young make their appearance, and about a fortnight
later quit the nest. Even after they are fully fledged they accompany
their parents, who tend them with great devotion, and feed them while on
the wing, after the manner of Swallows. This species subsists chiefly on
shell-fish, beetles, and dragon-flies. The flesh of the Black Terns is
tolerably good.
THE WHITE-WINGED TERN.
The WHITE-WINGED TERN (_Hydrochelidon leucoptera_) has the body-feathers
of a rich deep black; the upper part of the wing is blueish grey; the
shoulders and points of the secondary quills are whitish grey, and the
rump and tail-feathers white. This species, which closely resembles the
Black Tern in size, manners, and habits, is very rare upon the coasts
of Great Britain. Temminck states that it frequents the shores of the
Mediterranean, and the lakes, rivers, and marshes beyond the Alps, being
common about Gibraltar, and Lakes Como, Lugano, and Lucerne, but that
it never visits Holland, or North Europe. Nilsson, on the contrary,
includes it amongst the birds of Germany and Scandinavia. The food of
the White-winged Tern consists of winged and aquatic insects, worms, and
sometimes small fishes.
THE WHITE-BEARDED TERN.
The WHITE-BEARDED TERN (_Hydrochelidon leucopareja_) has the black upon
the head and nape divided from the dark grey lower neck by a broad white
stripe; the breast is dark grey, mantle light grey, and belly greyish
white. This rare bird was first discovered by M. Natterer, in the marshes
of South Hungary, and is but very seldom seen in Great Britain. We are
little acquainted with its habits beyond that it subsists upon worms,
snails, and winged insects. Yarrell describes the egg as being one inch
and a half long, by one and one-eighth broad, with an asparagus-green
shell, spotted with brownish black and blueish grey.
THE WHITE OR SILKY TERN.
The WHITE or SILKY TERN (_Gygis Candida_) is a beautiful bird, with
slender body, long thin beak, which curves perceptibly upwards, long
wings, and deeply excised tail. The feet are small, and the toes furnished
with a narrow web; the plumage is of silky softness and pure white; the
eye is black, the beak dark blue towards its base and black at the point;
the foot is saffron-yellow.
The White Tern inhabits the Pacific Ocean, and is to be met with from
Moreton Bay to Cape York. Gould was informed by Mr. Cumming, that on
visiting Elizabeth Island, in the South Seas, which is entirely destitute
of inhabitants and fresh water, he found this, or an allied species,
breeding on a kind of _Pandanus_, its single egg being deposited on
the horizontal branches in a depression, which, although slight, was
sufficient to retain it in position, despite the high winds and consequent
oscillation to which it was subjected. Mr. Cumming added that the old
birds were flying about in thousands, like swarms of bees, and that he
noticed several breeding on the same tree. Some of the young birds were
hatched and covered with down, and being within reach, he took a few of
them in his hand, and after examining, replaced them on their dangerous
resting-place, from which it appeared they occasionally fell down and were
destroyed, as he observed several lying dead on the ground. Gould also
refers to a bird of this genus, and perhaps the same species noticed by
Darwin in the _Journal of Researches in Geology and Natural History_, who,
speaking of Keeling Island, says:--"There is one charming bird, a small
and snow-white Tern, which smoothly hovers at the distance of an arm's
length from your head, its large black eye scanning with quiet curiosity
your expression. Little imagination is required to fancy that so light and
delicate a body must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit."
THE NODDY.
The NODDY (_Anous stolidus_) represents a group recognisable by its
somewhat clumsy appearance; its beak is longer than the head, strong,
almost straight, and compressed at the sides, with the fore part of the
under mandible bent at an angle; the legs are powerful, and the feet
furnished with long narrow toes, fully webbed; the wings are long, narrow,
and pointed, but their apices are somewhat rounded off, the tail is
long and wedge-shaped, but not forked. The colour of its plumage, with
the exception of the upper part of the head, which is greyish white,
is sooty brown, a patch in front of and another behind the eye black,
the quills and tail-feathers blackish brown; the eye is brown, the beak
black, and the foot dusky brownish red. The length of the Noddy is
sixteen inches, its breadth thirty-two, length of wing eleven inches,
of tail five inches. These birds appear to be more widely distributed
than any of their congeners; they are met with both in the Atlantic and
the Pacific Oceans, being perhaps most abundant in the latter portion
of the globe. Some ornithologists, however, are undecided whether the
Atlantic and Pacific birds must be regarded merely as varieties or as
distinct species. Mr. Coues, who is of the latter opinion, has proposed
to call the Pacific species _Anous frater_. Mr. Gould, however, prefers
to describe the Australian bird under the old name of _stolidus_, rather
than unnecessarily multiply the number of specific appellations, but he
observes that though the Noddies of the northern and southern hemispheres
are very much alike, considerable variation is found to exist in their
modes of nidification, and the season at which it is performed; there is
also a difference in the colouring and number of their eggs, those in the
northern hemisphere being said to lay three, those in the southern only
one egg. The Noddy, and an allied species, _Anous melanops_, says Gilbert,
are extremely numerous on the Houtmann's Abrolhos, where they breed in
prodigious numbers. The present species lays its eggs in November and
December, on a nest constructed of seaweed, about six inches in diameter,
and varying in height from four to eight inches, but without anything like
regularity of form; the top is nearly flat, there being but a very slight
hollow to prevent their single egg from rolling off. The nests are so
completely plastered with the excrement of the bird, that at first sight
they appear to be entirely formed of that material; they are either placed
on the ground in a clear open space, or on the tops of the thick scrub,
over those of the _Onochoprios fuliginosus_, the two species incubating
together with the most perfect harmony, and the bushes presenting a
mottled appearance, from the great numbers of both species perched on
their tops. By the middle of January the eggs were nearly ready to hatch,
and there would be an overwhelming increase of this species yearly, but
for the check which Nature has provided against it, in the presence of a
small lizard, which is very abundant in their breeding-places, and which
finds an easy prey in the young.
"About the beginning of May," says Audubon, "the Noddies collect from
all parts of the Gulf of Mexico and coasts of Florida, for the purpose
of returning to their breeding-places on one of the Tortugas, called the
Noddy Key, where they form regular nests of twigs and dry grass, which
they place on bushes or low trees, but never on the ground. On visiting
their island on the 11th of May, 1832, I was surprised to see that many
of them were repairing and augmenting nests which had remained throughout
the winter, while others were employed in commencing new ones, and some
were already sitting on their eggs. In a great many instances the repaired
nests formed masses nearly two feet in height, and yet all of them had
only a slight hollow for the eggs, broken shells of which were found
among the entire ones, as if they had been purposely placed there. The
birds did not discontinue their labours, although there were nine or ten
of us walking among the bushes, and when we had gone a few yards into the
thicket, thousands of them flew quite low over us, some at times coming so
close as to enable us to catch a few of them with the hand. On one side
might be seen a Noddy carrying a stick in its bill, or a bird picking up
something from the ground to add to its nest, on the other several were
sitting on their eggs, unconscious of danger, while their mates brought
them food. The greater part rose on wing as we advanced, but re-alighted
as soon as we had passed. The bushes were rarely taller than ourselves,
so that we could easily see the eggs in the nests." It is stated that the
_Anous stolidus_ occasionally visits St. George's Channel, and in 1840 two
specimens were shot off the coast of Wexford.
* * * * *
The SCISSOR-BILLS (_Rhynchopes_) constitute a group of night birds,
bearing the same relationship to the Sea Swallows as the Owls to the
Falcons. Their body is elongate, neck long, head small, wings very long,
and the forked tail of moderate size. Their beak is so peculiar in its
structure that it can be compared to nothing so happily as to a pair of
scissors. The lower mandible is very considerably longer than the upper
portion of the bill; the legs are feeble, tolerably long but slender, and
the anterior toes connected by a deeply-incised web. The general plumage,
which is close and smooth, presents a peculiar, greasy appearance.
THE INDIAN SCISSOR-BILL.
The INDIAN SCISSOR-BILL (_Rhynchops orientalis_) is white upon the
forehead, face, tail, under side of the body, and upon the points of the
larger wing-covers; the top of the head, back of neck, and mantle are
blackish brown; the eyes are dark brown, the beak and feet coral-red.
The length of this species is seventeen inches, its breadth forty-two
inches, length of wing thirteen inches, and of tail two inches and a half.
The Scissor-bill has frequently come under our notice, while travelling
along the banks of the Middle and Upper Nile. This bird may occasionally
be seen flying by day if it has been disturbed; but it usually remains
motionless upon sandbanks from morning to evening, generally lying flat
upon its belly, more rarely standing up on its little feeble feet; while
thus reposing, it is but seldom that it makes any noise or exhibits the
slightest activity. As the sun sets, however, it begins to be more lively,
moves about, stretches itself, raises its wings, hops backwards and
forwards, and utters its peculiar cry; but it is only as night approaches
that it flies away in search of food. Its movements are then in exact
accordance with the peculiar structure of its beak. With long strokes
of its wings, it glides noiselessly along close to the water, from time
to time dipping its lower mandible beneath the surface and keeping it
there for a minute or two at a time, ploughing, as it were, the top of
the river, with its strangely-shaped under jaw, and skimming the water.
In this manner it manages to collect great numbers of the insects, which
upon the banks of the Nile, at least, constitute its principal food.
Whether it also eats small molluscs, more particularly bivalves, and is
skilful in opening them with its beak, we cannot say, but that this is
the case with some of its congeners seems to be pretty well established.
Lesson states that he saw an American Scissor-bill seat itself quietly
down near some bivalve shell-fish left by the tide and wait patiently till
they opened their valves, when it inserted its beak between the separated
shells, till the occupant again closed its valves and thus laid hold upon
the beak; he then flew away with it to a neighbouring stone and beat the
shell to pieces. Tschüdi relates the same circumstance, but whether from
his own observation or from Lesson's narrative we do not know. At present
we entertain some doubts of the accuracy of the observations alluded
to. The flight of the Scissor-bill is light and beautiful, but somewhat
peculiar, inasmuch as the bird is obliged to raise its wings very high in
order to prevent the tips from striking the water; its proportionately
long neck enables it to do this, allowing it to keep its body at the
distance of about an inch from the surface, while a considerable portion
of its beak is held under water. Its hunting ground seems to extend for
about the space of a mile up and down the stream. In Central Africa it
will sometimes leave the river to hunt over some neighbouring pond. On
the south and western parts of that continent it may possibly, like its
American congeners, occasionally pay a visit to the coast. The cry of the
Scissor-bills, which may sometimes be heard when they are passing about in
company with each other is very peculiar, and entirely different from the
cry of any other bird with which we are acquainted.
In the neighbourhood of Dongola we were fortunate enough to light upon one
of their breeding-places. In the month of May we happened to see a number
of these birds at their ease lying flat upon a large sandbank, which we
were thus tempted to visit, and here to our great delight we found some
of their nests. These latter consisted simply of excavations made in the
sand; there was, however, this peculiarity about them, that each seemed to
be the centre of a series of radiating lines that looked as if drawn with
the back of a knife, and which obviously had been made by the birds, with
their lower mandible. The eggs we found bore an extraordinary resemblance
to those of the Sea Swallows. They were of an oval shape and in colour of
a greenish grey, bordering on yellow, irregularly speckled with light and
dark patches and streaks of grey and dark brown. In every nest we found
five eggs. Whether both sexes brood or not we were unable to ascertain,
neither could we obtain information as to the rearing of the nestlings.
Speaking of the young of the Indian species, Mr. Brooks writes to
Jerdon:--"It was amusing to see an army of some hundreds of these little
fellows (tortoiseshell-looking things) running steadily a couple of
hundred yards before us. They run well, and when we reached the end of the
sandbank, they attempted to swim off, while many squatted down; they did
not make much way swimming, and sank very deep in the water."
* * * * *
The GULLS (_Lari_) form a well-defined and distinct family, recognisable
by the following characters. Although these birds vary in size, from
that of a Jackdaw to that of an Eagle, all are powerfully framed, with
a short neck and large head. Their beak, which is of medium length, is
strongly compressed at the sides, straight from the brow to the centre
of culmen, and from that point to its apex bent gradually downwards, so
as to form a strong terminal hook; both the upper and lower mandibles
are provided with sharp cutting edges, and the gape extends backwards as
far as the eyes; the tarsus is moderately high, but slender; the foot,
with few exceptions, four-toed, the interior toes being webbed; the
wings are long and broad, but acutely-pointed, the first quill being the
longest; the tail, consisting of twelve feathers, of moderate length, is
broad and straight, less frequently slightly incised; in a few species
the centre feathers are somewhat prolonged. The general plumage, which
is thick and soft, and fur-like on the under surface of the body, is
very similarly coloured throughout the entire family. Upon the mantle
and wings the prevalent hue is a beautiful blueish grey, varied with
white and slate-black; the feathers of the under side (in many species
the head and neck) are pure white; the back and feet of old birds are
brighter and often of a different tint to those of the young. Gulls are
to be met with in every quarter of the globe, but are most abundant in
northern regions. A few species wander to a considerable distance from
land, always, however, returning to the vicinity of the shore. All may
therefore properly be called coast birds, and to the mariner they are
always welcome, as sure harbingers of land. Their flights inland are even
more frequent than their excursions into the open sea, and many of them
may often be seen following the course of large rivers, or winging their
way from lake to lake, into the interior of the country. Some species will
frequently settle in the vicinity of inland lakes, and most of them prefer
a similar situation as their breeding-place. Many members of this family
are more or less migratory; some appear upon our northern shores in the
spring, and after rearing their young, take their departure in the autumn;
others again only wander to considerable distances; there are, indeed, but
few species that can be properly regarded as stationary. These wandering
propensities are intimately connected with their supply of food. All of
them live more or less upon fishes, but some also greedily devour insects,
and these latter migrate with the greatest regularity. Besides the above
articles of nourishment, Gulls eagerly pick up whatever small animals
or animal substances they may happen to meet with. Carrion they devour
as greedily as do the Vultures, even if it be in a putrid condition. In
short, they appear to share the appetites of many other birds, and to be
quite as omnivorous as the Crows. All Sea Gulls walk well and quickly;
they swim buoyantly, lying in the water like so many air-bubbles, and
dive with facility, but to no great depth, plunging probably for not more
than one or two feet below the surface. Their voice consists of a harsh,
disagreeable scream. As their breeding time approaches, these birds begin
to assemble in flocks, which are frequently joined by other parties,
until at last they form a numerous host. Even upon our own shores their
nesting-places are often occupied by many hundred pairs, whilst further
north they congregate in countless multitudes. The larger species crowd
less closely together at these times than the smaller ones, the latter
often literally covering the rocks on which their nests are so closely
placed, that the brooding parents press upon each other. The structure of
the nests varies in different localities; where grass and seaweeds are
procurable they are carefully heaped together, but where these fail the
nests are of still scantier proportions. The brood consists of from two
to four comparatively large oval eggs, with strong coarse, brownish green
or greenish brown shells, spotted with grey and brown; upon these both
male and female sit by turns, for a period of three or four weeks. The
young are clothed in a thick covering of speckled down, and shortly after
emerging from the shell may be seen trotting about upon the sand, hiding
themselves if alarmed behind little hillocks, or boldly plunging into
the water. Such, however, as are born upon the ledges of perpendicular
rocks, must necessarily remain there until their wings are strong enough
to enable them to come down from their lofty perch, for they appear
not to take the desperate leaps into the sea attempted by so many sea
birds, to their destruction. During the first few days, the young are fed
with half-digested food from their parents' crops, and afterwards with
freshly-caught fishes, or other small animals. For some little time after
they are able to fly they remain together, but soon quit their birthplace,
and spread themselves along the coast. In the northern regions the Gulls
are not only the most beautiful, but the most useful of the many feathered
visitants; they are regarded as property, and as jealously preserved as
any other game. In Norway the eggs form a very considerable part of the
land proprietors' revenue. Among the poorer inhabitants the feathers are
used instead of eider-down for bedding. The flesh of the old birds finds
favour only amongst the Esquimaux, while that of the young is eaten by
the inhabitants of Greenland and Iceland. If properly cooked, the latter,
in truth, form by no means a despicable dish. Still, however, the eggs
and feathers are looked upon as far more valuable than this somewhat
fishy-flavoured game. In some localities, at certain seasons of the year,
great _battues_ are held, apparently much more from a love of slaughter
than from any desire to turn the birds to account. The chase after Sea
Gulls presents but few difficulties, a white pocket handkerchief thrown
into the air is quite sufficient to attract their attention, and when they
approach, if one is killed many others will at once crowd around it. They
are also caught by a great variety of contrivances; snares are laid for
them upon the sandbanks, some are caught in nets, and others by means of
hooks, baited with fish.
* * * * *