CHAPTER XVIII._By the deep sea

BIRDS OF THE SEA-SHORE.

One of the greatest charms of the sea-shore to the majority of visitors

is afforded by the marine birds in their varied occupations of flying,

swimming, diving, and walking. In these beautiful creatures the British

coasts are rich, even when we exclude (as we propose to do from this

chapter) the many species that frequent the mud flats of estuaries in

preference to the rocks and sands of the sea-coast proper. Strange

as it may at first sight seem, the sea-sands are in the hard weather

of winter the resort of multitudes of small birds from inland woods

and commons, which here seek their sustenance at the very time when

hunger induces the gulls to follow the plough and to penetrate far up

the rivers--even to such uncongenial places as London itself, where,

however, they are sure of a cordial welcome and a plentiful repast.

Then is the season for the starlings and the thrushes to take their

sea-change, and I have seen them in winter in great crowds upon the

sands, hobnobbing and competing with rooks, redbreasts, lapwings, and

finches of many kinds, for the odds and ends brought in by every wave,

and for the smaller mollusks, the marine worms and minor crustaceans

that the shore affords to the quick-eyed and the patient seeker.

But our business just now is more with those birds to whom the shore

and the adjacent waters are their every-day hunting-grounds, the place

where many of them lay their eggs and rear their young. One of the most

constant of these is the Rock Pipit (_Anthus obscurus_), whose happy

chirrup and light-hearted springy flight from sand to rock, or rock

to rock, are every day and all the year round features of the shore

on certain parts of our coast. In other places it is only seen at the

period of migration or in the winter months. It is a larger and darker

bird than the well-known Meadow Pipit (_A. pratensis_), and its hind

claw is more curved and not so long. The bill is black, with a little

yellow at its base, and the tail dark.

It prefers a spot where the cliffs are not too precipitous, or where

they exhibit sloping terraces grown with thrift and samphire, in which

the Rock Pipit may find a suitable little cave for its nest, with a

beetling brow in the shape of an overhanging piece of rock to protect

it from the rain. There it will make its nest of grass, hair-lined, and

deposit in it the five pretty green-grey eggs with evenly distributed

reddish-brown specks. I have often sat on Cornish rocks and watched the

Rock Pipit on the shore below, running along the lines of washed-in

weeds, and evidently picking out small mollusks and shore-hoppers; I

have found its nest also in the hollows of steep cliffs difficult of

access.

The Chough (_Pyrrhocorax graculus_) was at one time a common bird in

England, but it is now restricted to Ireland, the Isle of Man, parts

of Wales, and south-west England. Cornwall was formerly regarded as

its headquarters, and it was variously known as the Cornish Chough,

Cornish Daw, Cornwall Kae, Market-jew Crow, as well as by other names

not connected particularly with the Duchy; but so great have been the

onslaughts upon it that the Cornwall County Council has had to get the

Home Secretary to declare it a protected species, with a price upon the

head of the miscreant who dares to take its eggs in the Western Duchy.

Its plumage is black, with purple and green reflections, and its bill

and legs bright red. It fortunately nests in difficult places in high

cliffs, where it makes the nest which Yarrell describes as built of

“sticks lined with wool and hair,” in which it lays “four or five eggs

of a yellowish-white colour, spotted with ash-grey and light brown.”

The Jackdaw (_Corvus monedula_) often builds in holes in high cliffs.

We have found its nest far inside a rabbit hole that was probably

never intended by the rabbit as a means of entrance to or exit from

his burrow, but as a secluded place whence he could look out upon

the blue sea hundreds of feet below. But the rabbit had probably

been evicted, or had fallen a prey to the ravens that built hard by,

and the Jackdaw had taken possession. I knew the nest was there from

watching the excursions of the old birds, but it was only by lying

along a dangerously narrow ledge and pushing my arm in, right up to

the shoulder, that I could feel the nest and count the heads of the

five young Jacks. The nest of the Raven (_Corvus corax_) was in a hole

so high up the perfectly straight face of the rock, that its entrance

could only be reached by a person swung from the cliff fifty feet

above it. All one could do was to watch the young birds fly out in a

batch and hear the parental croaking that was evidently intended as

approbation of their progress.

[Illustration: SHAG.]

But to get to the distinctly maritime species, and first those of the

Pelican family. We have two native species of Cormorant, the Common

Cormorant (_Phalacrocorax carbo_) and the Shag (_P. graculus_). The

Common Cormorant, Great Black Cormorant, Cole Goose, or Skart, as it is

variously styled in different localities, is a bird of the rock-bound

coast, where there are detached masses of rock forming little islets,

and where the face of the high cliffs is broken into narrow ledges.

Such a coast will have at distances of a few miles its Shag-rocks

and Shag-stones, which are well-marked by an abundant coating of

white-wash. These are the resting-places whither the Cormorant and

Shag repair to eat and digest the fish they have just captured, two or

three miles further along the coast it may be. Similarly you may always

tell the situation of their nests on the high ledges of the cliffs,

though from the shore no part of the nest itself may be seen: but the

streaks of white-wash splashed far down the precipice have only to be

followed upward with the eye, and they will be seen to end just below

a narrow shelf. Upon that shelf the rough nest is placed, and in it

lie the four or five bluish-green eggs that afterwards become coated

with a white crust. The colouring of the adult is more or less green,

with patches of white on the neck and the outer part of the thighs. In

winter these white patches become less conspicuous, and the green of

its upper parts changes to a rusty black.

The Shag, Green Cormorant, Crested Cormorant, or Crested Shag, may be

distinguished from the other species by its entire green colour and its

smaller size. This difference in measurements, etc., may be put into a

readily-seen form thus:--

BILL WING TAIL FEATHERS EGGS

_P. carbo._ 4½ to 5 ins. 14½ ins. 14 4 to 6

_P. graculus_ 3½ ins. 10 ins. 12 3 to 5

The two species are very similar in their habits, watching for fish

from their favourite rock, and when their prey is seen diving after it.

Sometimes they skim the waters and suddenly dive in after fish seen

through the water.

[Illustration: SOLAN GOOSE.]

Our other British Pelican is the Gannet or Solan Goose (_Sula

bassana_), whose breeding-places are restricted to certain islets

off the north-western coasts, such as the Bass Rock, Ailsa Craig,

and some of the jutting headlands of the Hebrides, where they build

extensive nests of dry grass, seaweed, and anything else that happens

to be handy when they are building. On this they lay their solitary

white egg, which must be described as small in proportion to the bird,

and ridiculously small compared with the nest. Great numbers gather

at their favourite breeding-places in the spring, and they are then

said to be very tame. In autumn these great assemblages, with the new

generation they have reared, break up, and the individuals distribute

themselves widely over the seas, where they follow at a height the

shoals of fish, suddenly diving straight to the mark and capturing the

fish selected for their prey.

The Common Grey Heron, or Hern (_Ardea cinerea_), though not usually

reckoned among maritime birds, is frequent on our shores, and may often

be seen to fly along, then settle with his feet in the water beside

some grey rock where he is all but invisible, and watch for fish and

other marine creatures.

[Illustration: OYSTER CATCHER.]

The ill-named Oyster Catcher (_Hæmatopus ostralegus_) is well

distributed along our shores, and it is no uncommon thing to hear its

loud and shrill rattling pipes, and turning at the sound, to see its

elegant form perched on a rock that is surrounded by water. In such a

prominent position its black and white plumage, its red legs, and long

red beak render it very conspicuous. I do not think it catches many

oysters, unless they be the fragile Saddle-oysters (_Anomia_) from the

rocks. The oyster of commerce and gastronomy (_Ostrea_) has too thick

and large a shell for it, though its bill is a strong one and capable

of breaking into the strongholds of small cockles, mussels, and Venus

shells. So far as the coast is concerned it selects sandy shores for

its breeding-places, where it may be seen running quickly up and down

at the very edge of the water. It makes no nest, merely selecting the

slight shelter of a tuft of grass on the higher, drier part of the

sands, and there it lays its three or four clay-coloured eggs, spotted,

blotched, and streaked with dark brown, and arranged with their narrow

ends close together. If there are four eggs in the clutch they will be

arranged cross-wise.

The Purple Sandpiper (_Tringa striata_) must not be looked for by

the summer visitor, for it only comes to these shores when it has

donned its winter dress. The same may be said of the Knot (_Tringa

canutus_), which is sometimes confused with the Purple Sandpiper, but

they may be readily distinguished in winter dress by examining the

upper tail-coverts. In _T. striata_ these are quite black, but in _T.

canutus_ they are white barred with black.

The Sanderling (_Calidris arenaria_) is plentiful in spring and autumn,

on the wet sands and adjacent rocks; its whitish underside showing

distinctly. The Redshank (_Totanus calidris_) is also common on many of

our shores; its winter plumage is uniformly grey above, white beneath;

but in spring this changes to brown, spotted and barred with black on

the upper parts, and the white of the lower surfaces becomes greatly

modified by the many streaks and spots of dark brown.

The Curlew (_Numenius arquata_) in its seasonal migrations has usually

some representatives upon the coast, though it is in the winter that

they are most commonly seen there, especially in the south, where they

spend the winter in flocks. The Whimbrel (_Numenius phæopus_), which

is a smaller Curlew, is often found on the same shores in winter and

spring. It may be distinguished not merely by the smaller stature, but

by a difference in the colour and markings of the head. In the Curlew

this has a light brown crown streaked with black, whereas in the

Whimbrel the same part is dark brown, with a pale buff stripe dividing

the brown into two equal portions.

The Terns (_Sterna_) have been well-named Sea-swallows, and a flock of

them flying, wheeling, and doubling, over the waters, presents a very

close resemblance of movement to that of the real Swallow. Several

species haunt our shores, some coming here to breed. Among these may be

noted the Sandwich Tern (_Sterna cantiaca_), the largest of the genus

that breeds here, which has a yellow-tipped black bill; the Common

Tern (_S. fluviatilis_), which has a _red_ bill, the tip of the upper

mandible only being black, and that not a very good black; and the

Little Tern (_S. minuta_) with a _yellow_ bill, black-tipped, and a

white forehead.

The Gulls (_Larus_) are, of course, abundant, and much time may be

pleasantly spent sitting near the edge of a grassy cliff, or some

distance up its face, and watching the flight of the gulls below,

sometimes rapidly as though time and tide wait for no gull; at other

times with an easy undulating motion as though it were not necessary

to hurry about anything, and scarcely necessary to move a wing when

sailing on a pair outstretched is so easy a matter. But the visitor

is often puzzled to make out the difference between those he commonly

sees, and this is never an easy task to a naturalist until he has spent

much time with them and made himself acquainted with the colour changes

of the birds from youth to adult age.

Below I am attempting to tabulate the most striking differences between

several species, taking in each case the adult plumage.

+---------+-----+-------+--------------+------+--------+-----------+

| +-----+-------+--------------+------+--------+-----------+

|Black- |Dark |Red |White, the |Pearly|Red |Red |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

+---------+-----+-------+--------------+------+--------+-----------+

[Illustration: RAZORBILL.]

The Razorbill and the Guillemot are common birds on most of our coasts

where there are cliffs, but we shall see them chiefly as swimming and

diving birds as we walk along the shore. The Razorbill (_Alca torda_)

when swimming carries its tail parts higher out of the water than

the Guillemot (_Uria troile_), and is further distinguished by the

high compressed bill with white transverse stripes, the white stripe

from the bill to the eye, and the dark brown throat. The Guillemot

has a long, straight, pointed beak, white throat crossed by a greyish

cravat, continued from the mottled black and white of the back of the

head and neck. It is too common as a dead, sodden-plumaged bird in the

rock-pools after winter storms, which prevent it fishing, and starve it

to death. The legs and feet are greyish, the webs black.

The Black Guillemot (_Uria grylle_) breeds on cliffs in Scotland,

Ireland, and Man, but in winter also visits the south and south-west

coasts. Its summer dress is wholly black, save for a patch of white on

the coverts, but in winter the black is all replaced by white and very

pale grey. The legs and feet differ, too, from those of _U. troile_ in

being vermilion in the present species.

[Illustration: PUFFIN.]

The Puffin (_Fratercula arctica_) is identified readily, wherever seen,

by its conspicuous compressed orange beak of great depth from top to

bottom. This gives it a humorous aspect that belongs to itself alone;

but it is useful to it also, for it makes a very efficient cracking

instrument wherewith certain of the thinner shelled bivalves may be

utilised for the Puffin’s food. It is a great diver, and sometimes the

habit is its ruin. I have a fine specimen that was drowned by running

its head into the mesh of a mackerel-net, and failing to extricate

itself in time to prevent death by drowning. Young specimens are

sometimes blown in exhausted during winter gales. Many other birds are

similarly overcome.

The pretty little Storm Petrel, or Mother Carey’s Chicken (_Procellaria

pelagica_), whose stuffed body is before me as I write, was blown in

early in November, 1895. I tried to restore it to vigour, but it was

too far exhausted to take food, and this appears to be the common

condition of those that are blown in. On the same day many Gulls,

Guillemots, and Shags were washing into our “porth,” and several of

these were cared for, restored to health, and given their liberty a few

days later.

The Great Northern Diver (_Colymbus glacialis_) and the Fulmar

(_Fulmarus glacialis_) are also winter visitants to most of our shores.

It is thought the Diver may breed on some of our extreme northern

islands, but there appears to be no evidence that it does so. It is a

regular visitor to the Cornish coasts in winter, and it is well worth

watching from some rocky headland. It is large and powerful, and excels

not merely as a proficient diver with plenty of “staying power,” but is

a vigorous swimmer, and a very capable flier. It is a pity those who

see it are not more content with the sight, instead of being possessed

with the desire to get a gun and shoot it. One would like to see it

more often alive, and less frequently adorning the halls of country

houses near the coast.

The Fulmar is not of such general occurrence as the Diver, except

in the far north--St. Kilda, Orkney and Shetland. St. Kilda is

its breeding-place, and they are merely stragglers that put in an

appearance during winter on more southern shores. The hooked-bill and

tubular nostrils distinguish it from the gulls at a glance.

The Manx Shearwater (_Puffinus anglorum_) breeds on islands all down

the western coast as far south as Scilly; it is therefore a more

frequent visitor to our southern and western coasts, especially before

and after it is engaged on the important work of hatching and rearing

its solitary chick.