species. Its home is in the Arctic seas, from which it strays
southwards in winter, and has been occasionally seen on our coasts.
The following account of the capture of one of these birds, in 1844,
indicates a bird of unusual daring and voracity: "About the beginning
of last October, a Pomarine Skua was taken in the adjoining village of
Ovingdean. It had struck down a White Gull, which it would not quit:
it was kept alive above a fortnight, and then died. The very first day
of its captivity it (is said to have) devoured twenty-five Sparrows.
Once it escaped, and immediately attacked a Duck, which it held till
recaptured."[54]
[54] _Zoologist_, vol. iii. p. 880.
RICHARDSON'S SKUA
STERCORARIUS CREPIDATUS
Crown dusky; cheeks, neck, and under plumage white, tinged with
yellow or brown; rest of the plumage dusky, the wings and tail
the darkest. Two central tail-feathers tapering from the base,
pointed, and projecting six inches; tarsus less than two
inches. Length twenty-one inches. Eggs olive, with a circle of
brown spots near the larger extremity, the rest speckled with
the same colour.
This species of Skua, most familiarly known, perhaps, as the Arctic
Gull, received its distinctive name, 'Richardson's', in honour of the
eminent Arctic naturalist. It is distinguished from the species
already described by its longer tail, but the habits of all are much
alike; indeed, the names of 'Arctic Gull', 'Boatswain', 'and
Man-of-War', appear to be sometimes employed indiscriminately.
Richardson's Skua, like the rest, inhabits the Arctic seas, but
extends its wanderings southwards in far greater numbers than either
of the other species, so that its occurrence on the east coast of
England is not unusual. According to Mr. Dunn, 'numbers of this bird
breed in Orkney and Shetland, appearing regularly in May and leaving
in August: it is confined to a few situations and is strictly
preserved, from the same motive as the Skua Gull. It constructs its
nest on low, not mossy, heaths in exposed situations. The female lays
two eggs, and has recourse to the same stratagems that the Plover
employs to decoy you from the nest; but when a person approaches near
to the place where the nest is built, becomes bold and fierce, and
strikes severely with the feet and bill.' The following account is
taken from Mr. St. John's _Wild Sports of the Highlands_: "I was much
amused the other day by the proceedings of a pair of the Black-toed
Gull or Boatswain. These two birds were sitting quietly on an elevated
ridge of sand, near which a number of other Gulls of different kinds
were fishing, and hovering about in search of what the waves might
cast up. Every bird, indeed, was busy and employed, excepting these
two black robbers, who seemed to be quietly resting, quite
unconcerned. When, however, a Gull had picked up a prize, these birds
seemed instinctively to know it, and darting off with the rapidity of
a Hawk (which bird they much resemble in their manner of flight), they
attacked the unfortunate Gull in the air, and in spite of his screams
and attempts to escape, they pursued and beat him till he disgorged
the fish or whatever he had swallowed, when one of them darted down
and caught the substance before it could reach the water. The two then
quietly returned to their sandbank, where they waited patiently to
renew the robbery, should an opportunity occur. As the flock of Gulls
moved on with the flow of the tide, the Boatswains moved on also,
hovering on their flank like a pair of plundering freebooters. I
observed that, in chasing a Gull, they seemed perfectly to understand
each other as to who should get the spoil; and in their attacks on the
largest Gulls (against whom they waged the most fearless warfare),
they evidently acted so as to aid each other. If another pair of
Boatswains intruded on their hunting-ground they immediately seemed to
send them further off; not so much by actual battle, as by a noisy and
screaming argument, which they continued most vigorously till the
new-comers left the neighbourhood.
"I never saw these birds hunt for their own living in any other way
than by robbing the other Gulls. Though not nearly so large as some of
the birds which they attack, their Hawk-like swoops and great courage
seem to enable them to fight their way most successfully. They are
neatly and powerfully made, their colour a kind of sooty dull black,
with very little gloss or shining tints on their feathers."
[Illustration:
Black Guillemot [M] [F]
Puffin [M]
Guillemot [F]
Razor-bill [M]
[_face p. 290._]]
[Illustration:
Red-throated Diver [F] Winter and [M] Summer.
Black-throated Diver _imm._ and [M]
Little Auk [F]
Great Northern Diver [M]]
ORDER PYGOPODES
FAMILY ALCIDÆ
THE RAZOR-BILL
ALCA TORDA
Wings reaching to the origin of the tail; head and upper parts
black; a band across the wing; an interrupted line from the eye
to the base of the bill, and all the under parts white; bill
black, with three or four furrows, of which the middle one is
white; irides hazel; legs dusky. In _summer_ the line from the
eye to the bill is pure white, and the whole of the throat and
neck is black, tinged with red. Length seventeen inches. Eggs
white, blotched and spotted with two shades of brown.
In general habits, the Razor-bill closely resembles the Guillemot and
Puffin. Indeed, in some parts of the coast, the Razor-bill is called a
Puffin, and the latter a Sea Parrot; and in Cornwall both Guillemots
and Razor-bills are known by the common name of Murre. At a distance
the birds can only be distinguished by a practised eye; but on a close
inspection they cannot be possibly confounded.
Razor-bills are common on many parts of our coast during the later
summer months. They are more frequently seen swimming than flying, and
if pursued by a boat are little disposed to take alarm until they are
approached to within twenty or thirty yards, when they dive, but soon
reappear not very far off. If two birds be in company and one be
killed by a shot from a gun, its companion, instead of taking
measures to insure its own safety, seems to lose the power of
self-preservation. It paddles round its companion as if unable to
comprehend the reason why it neither dives nor flies, and if pursued
suffers itself to be overtaken and knocked down by an oar. This
sympathetic feeling is not confined to birds which have paired, or to
members of the same family; for in an instance which came under my own
notice, both birds were only a few months old, and, as the Razor-bill
lays but one egg, the birds could not possibly have grown up together.
Towards winter, Razor-bills migrate southwards, either to avoid cold
or to find waters where their prey swims nearer to the surface than in
our climate. In spring they return northwards, and repair, like
Puffins, to places of habitual resort for the purpose of breeding. At
this season, also, they are eminently social, laying each an egg in
close proximity on a ledge in the rocks, lower down than the Puffins,
but above the Guillemots, all of which birds flock to the same portion
of coast, often in countless multitudes. The egg differs from that of
the Guillemot not only in colour but in shape, being less decidedly
pear-shaped. It is much sought after as an article of food, and is
said to be very palatable.
The 'Auk' of Arctic voyagers is this bird. The Razor-bill is one of
the best known of the Auk family, or Alcidæ, although less plentiful
than the Guillemot or the Puffin.
THE COMMON GUILLEMOT
ÚRIA TRÓILE
Bill much compressed, longer than the head, greyish black;
upper plumage brownish black; the secondaries tipped with
white; a whitish patch behind the eye on each side; under
plumage white; feet dusky; iris brown. Length nearly eighteen
inches. Eggs greenish or bluish, blotched and streaked with
black.
This is one of our common sea-birds during a great portion of the
year, though little known to ordinary sea-side visitors, owing to its
habit of keeping well out to sea and having nothing ostentatious in
its habits. Yet, during a cruise in a yacht, on almost any part of the
coast, a practised eye will often discover a few stragglers,
distinguished among other sea-birds by their black and white colours,
short neck, and sharp beak. They swim low in the water; and when
disturbed do not invariably dive like the Grebes and Divers, but
readily take wing. They are essentially marine birds, never resorting
to fresh water, and living exclusively on fish, which they capture by
diving, an art in which they are scarcely less skilful than the true
Divers, and which they practise in the same way--by the means, namely,
of both wings and feet. Occasionally, a small party may be observed,
flying in single file near the surface of the water. On the eastern
coast of England, the Guillemot is best known by the name of Willock.
It is also called Tinker's Hue, or, as Yarrell gives it,
'Tinkershere'; and in the west of England it is often called a Murr.
The old writers describe it under the name of Greenland Dove, or Sea
Turtle-Dove; and in Scotland it has a variety of other names. Tinker's
Hue is, I presume, the sobriquet of a white bird with a smutty back;
Murr is clearly a corruption of Mergus, or 'diver'. Yet more commonly
it is known as the 'Foolish Guillemot', a term of reproach analogous
to that of 'Booby', given to it from the indifference which it
evinces, in the breeding season, to one of its few, but that one the
most formidable of its enemies, man. Early in spring Guillemots throng
together from all parts of the open sea, and repair to some lofty
cliff, where, on a narrow ledge of rock, which in their folly they
deem inaccessible, they lay each a single egg. As the bird holds the
egg between her legs, she could not well cover more than one; and
though a concave nest is very needful to keep eggs together when there
are several, no such contrivance is necessary when there is one only;
so the Foolish Guillemot builds no nest, but lays a solitary egg on
the bare rock. The egg, which is large, is thick-shelled and rough, so
that it receives no detriment from the rock; and it is not likely to
roll off, for at one end it is thick, and at the other tapers almost
to a point; consequently, if accidentally moved by the parent bird
when taking flight, it turns as if on a pivot, but does not fall off.
At this season, the cliffs to which Guillemots resort are frequented
also by myriads of other sea-birds, such as Razor-bills, Puffins, and
Gulls, each congregating with its own species, but never consorting
with another. In Iceland, the Faroe Islands, St. Kilda, the Orkneys,
and many parts of the coast of Scotland, the breeding season of these
birds is the harvest-time of the natives. Either by climbing from
below, or by being let down with ropes from above, the egg-collectors
invade the dominions of these literally feathered 'tribes'. The
Foolish Guillemots, rather than leave their charge, suffer themselves
to be knocked on the head, to be netted, or noosed. Although stationed
so close to each other that a Foolish Guillemot alone could know its
own egg, they learn no wisdom from the fate of their nearest
neighbours. They are captured in detail for the sake of their
feathers; and their eggs are taken for food. In St. Kilda and,
perhaps, elsewhere, young birds are also taken in large numbers, and
salted for consumption in winter. Such as escape this systematic
slaughter flounder, as well as they are able, into the sea when nearly
fledged, or are carried thither by their foolish mothers. There they
learn to swim, to dive, and to fish, and about the middle of August
old and young disperse.
Huge baskets of their eggs are sometimes brought to the markets of
seaport towns (I have seen them so far south as Devonport), and sold
for a price exceeding that of domestic fowls, for they are much
larger, and are said to afford good eating. Wilson, in his _Voyage
round the Coasts of Scotland_, says that the natives of St. Kilda
prefer the eggs of these, and other sea-fowl, 'when _sour_; that is,
when about ten or twelve days old, and just as the incipient bird,
when boiled, forms in the centre into a thickish flaky matter, like
milk.'[55] Great quantities are used in the neighbourhood of
Flamborough Head early in the nesting season.
[55] Vol. ii. p. 45.
THE BLACK GUILLEMOT
ÚRIA GRYLLE
Upper plumage black; middle of the wings and under parts white;
iris brown; feet red. Length thirteen and a half inches. Eggs
whitish grey, blotched and speckled with grey and two shades of
brown.
The Black Guillemot, is a resident species breeding on the Isle
of Man, and on the Irish coasts. In Scotland it is common. Its
mode of life, as described by Macgillivray, who was familiarly
acquainted with it, differs in no material respect from that of
the species already described. It is, however, much smaller,
and lays two or sometimes three eggs. Macgillivray says that,
on those parts of the coast which it frequents, attempts are
often made to rear it in captivity; but always unsuccessfully.
In summer, these birds may be readily distinguished from other
sea-fowl, by their black and white plumage and red feet: the
predominant tint of the plumage in winter is white, with a
tinge of grey; and in high latitudes the proportion of white
increases.
THE LITTLE AUK
MÉRGULUS ÁLLE
Head and upper parts black; two bands across the wings; a spot
above the eye and all the under parts white. In _summer_ the
throat and front of the neck are also black. Length about seven
inches. Eggs uniform pale blue.
The Little Auk is essentially a northern sea-bird, coming to us in
winter, and is described by Arctic voyagers under the name of Rotche.
It is an indefatigable swimmer, and has considerable powers of flight;
but it does not possess the faculty of diving to the same degree as
the Divers and Grebes, as it generally stays but a short time under
water. Hence it must find its food near the surface; and this is
supposed to consist of the small crustaceous animals which are so
abundant in the Arctic waters. Little Auks are eminently social birds,
and have been observed occasionally in such numbers on the water and
floating masses of ice as almost to hide their resting-place. They
rarely travel far south; and when they visit our shores, which is in
winter, and after tempestuous weather, they are supposed to have been
driven hither against their will. Instances are recorded of specimens
having been found far inland, disabled or dead. It lays only a single
egg.
THE PUFFIN
FRATERCULA ÁRCTICA
Crown, collar, and upper parts, black; cheeks, region of the
eyes, and throat, greyish white; under parts pure white; bill
bluish grey at the base, yellow in the middle, bright red at
the tip; upper mandible with three transverse furrows, lower,
with two; iris whitish; orbits red; feet orange-red. Length
twelve and a half inches. Eggs whitish, with indistinct
ash-coloured spots.
Unlike the majority of sea-birds which have been passing under our
notice, Puffins visit the shores of the British Isles in summer, and
even in winter they are not absent. They make their appearance about
April or May, not scattering themselves indiscriminately along the
coast, but resorting in vast numbers to various selected
breeding-places, from the Scilly Islands to the Orkneys. Their home
being the sea, and their diet small fish, they possess the faculties
of swimming and diving to a degree of perfection. They have, moreover,
considerable powers of flight; but on land their gait is only a
shuffling attempt at progress. Their vocation on shore is, however,
but a temporary one, and requires no great amount of locomotion. Soon
after their arrival they set to work about their nests. Fanciful
people who class birds according to their constructive faculty as
weavers, basket-makers, plasterers, and so on, would rank Puffins
among miners. Building is an art of which they are wholly ignorant,
yet few birds are lodged more securely. With their strong beaks, they
excavate for themselves holes in the face of the cliff to the depth of
about three feet, and at the extremity the female lays a solitary
egg--solitary, that is to say, unless another bird takes shelter in
the same hole, which is not unfrequently the case. Puffins generally
show no overweening partiality for their own workmanship; sloping
cliffs which have been perforated by rabbits are favourite places of
resort; and here they do not at all scruple to avail themselves of
another's labour, or, if necessary, to eject by force of beak the
lawful tenant. If the soil be unsuited for boring, they lay their eggs
under large stones or in crevices in the rock. The old bird sits most
assiduously, and suffers herself to be taken rather than desert her
charge, but not without wounding, with her powerful beak, and to the
best of her ability, the hand which ventures into her stronghold.
Myriads burrow on Lundy Island. _Lunde_ means Puffin, and _ey_ Island,
the name being given by the old Scandinavian rovers who settled there.
The young are fed by both parents, at first on half-digested fish, and
when older on pieces of fresh fish. At this period they suffer their
colonies to be invaded without showing much alarm, and are either
shot, knocked down with a stick, or noosed without difficulty. As soon
as the young are fully fledged, all the Puffins withdraw to southern
seas, where they pass the winter, and do not approach land until the
return of the breeding season. "A small island near Skye, named
Fladda-huna, is a great breeding haunt of Puffins, a species which
arrives in the earlier part of May, literally covering the rocks and
ledgy cliffs with its feathered thousands. Although these have no
concern with our Grouse-shooting season, they almost totally disappear
on the twelfth of August."[56] It was just about this period (August
7) in the present year (1861) that I observed several large flocks of
Puffins, floating with the tide through the Sound of Islay, and was
told by an intelligent gamekeeper that "these birds habitually _swim_
through the sound at this season, but always _fly_ when returning".
The reason probably is that the young are not at the former period
sufficiently fledged to undertake a long flight, though they find no
difficulty in swimming. By spring they have attained their full
strength, and are able to adopt the more rapid mode of progress. In
Scotland there are many large colonies, also in the cliffs by
Flamborough Head, and on the Farne Islands.
Puffins and some other sea-birds appear to be either liable to a fatal
epidemic or to be surprised by some atmospheric disturbance, being
unable to resist which, they perish in large numbers. I have seen a
portion of the sea-shore in Cornwall strewed for the distance of more
than a mile with hundreds of their remains. All the softer parts had
been apparently devoured by fishes and crustaceous animals, and
nothing was left but the unmistakable parrot-like beaks. A friend
informs me that he witnessed a similar phenomenon in Norfolk, in
September, 1858; but in this instance the carcases of the birds were
not devoured, and the birds were of different kinds. He estimated that
about ninety per cent. were Guillemots, and the remainder Puffins,
Razor-bills, Scoters, and a sprinkling of Black Throated Divers. A
similar mortality among sea-birds is recorded in the _Zoologist_ as
having taken place on the coast of Norfolk, in May, 1856. On this
occasion they were so numerous as to be thought worth collecting for
manure.
Other names by which the Puffin is known are Sea Parrot, Coulterneb,
Mullet, Bottlenose; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie-Norie, and
Tammas.
[56] Wilson's _Voyage round the Coast of Scotland_.
FAMILY COLYMBIDÆ
THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER
COLYMBUS GLACIÁLIS
Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four
inches in length; head and neck violet-black, with a double
gorget white, barred with black; upper parts black, spotted
with white; under parts white; bill black; irides brown; feet
dusky, the membranes whitish. _Young_ very like the next, but
distinguishable by their superior size and the direction of the
bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive-brown, with a
few spots of purplish brown.
The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a _tribe_ of
sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds, which,
when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in flying. In
works on natural history the term is, however, employed to designate
the genus COLYMBUS, and with great propriety; for, however skilled any
of the above birds may be in this mode of progression, the true divers
surpass them immeasurably. First among these in size and dignity is
the Great Northern Diver, a native of high latitudes in both
hemispheres, never perhaps coming farther south than the Shetlands for
breeding purposes, and visiting our waters only during winter.[57] The
Northern Diver, or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably
frequent in British waters. In Scotland it prefers salt-water lochs and
sandy bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from
land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When in
pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge or splash,
the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps two or three
hundred yards of water before it rises again. Montagu says that it
propels itself by its feet alone; Audubon, on the contrary, states
that it uses the wings under water. The latter author is most probably
correct, for it dives more swiftly than the Grebes, and these birds
undoubtedly make a vigorous use of their wings. Where shoals of small
fish, such as sand-eels and sprats, abound, or where fish even of a
much larger size are numerous, the Northern Diver finds a rich
harvest. Occasionally while thus engaged it meets its death by dashing
into the herring nets, and there getting entangled. A fine specimen
was recently shown to me in the island of Islay, which had been thus
captured. Though it has never been known to take wing in attempting to
elude pursuit, it is often seen flying with strength and rapidity,
outstripping even the Grebe, which, in proportion to its size, is
furnished with far larger wings than itself.
The adult male, which is a very handsome bird, is of rare occurrence,
most of those which visit our shores being young birds.
The nest is usually placed near the edge of a reedy lake or large
river, having a well-beaten track leading to it from the water's edge.
This is formed by the bird in its clumsy effort to walk, a feat which
it only performs on such occasions. The nest itself is bulky, and is
formed of the vegetable substances found in the immediate vicinity,
such as grasses and other herbaceous plants. It contains two, and
sometimes three, eggs. The young are able to swim and dive very soon
after they are hatched, and are fed for about a fortnight by their
parents, at the expiration of which time they have to hunt for
themselves.
[57] Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as
an authority for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the
Broads of Norfolk. A careful examination of that author will
show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had seen only a single
specimen of the Northern Diver, his 'Divers', or 'Dive-fowl',
being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have
seen above, continue to breed in the Broads.
THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER
COLYMBUS ARCTICUS
Bill slightly curved upwards, with the middle of the lower
mandible equal in width to the base, exceeding three inches in
length; head ash-grey; throat and front of the neck black,
lustrous with violet and green; beneath the throat a narrow
band streaked with white and black; sides and front of the neck
streaked with white and black; back black, with a longitudinal
patch of white and black bars on the upper part; scapulars with
twelve or thirteen transverse white bars; bill dusky; iris
brown; feet dusky, with whitish membranes. _Young birds_ have
the head and back of the neck greyer and the upper plumage dark
brown, edged with bluish ash; under plumage white; cheeks
white, spotted with ash; upper mandible ash-grey, lower dull
white. Length twenty-four to twenty-eight inches. Eggs dark
olive-brown, spotted with purplish brown.