Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 6 (1902).djvu/443

Rh young which could fly quite well. The old birds flew round at a safe distance, very often settling on opposite side of me, keeping just out of sight over the rise of the hill, calling to each other with a soft musical whistle all the time. At another spot a pair were particularly noisy and bold, coming quite close to me, and whistling loudly. Several times I noticed one of these birds flying at a great height, apparently crossing from one hilltop to another, uttering a prolonged and varied whistle, which might almost be called a song.

Arnside. The keeper at Foulshaw Moss told me that when the Curlews flew around, as in the two instances mentioned above, and as a bird was doing while I was speaking to him, it was a sure sign that the eggs were hatched out, and that their young were somewhere near. When they had eggs, they were much quieter in their behaviour. There were three or four pairs breeding about Foulshaw Moss.

(Sterna cantiaca).—The Sandwich Tern was breeding in the sand-hills at Ravenglass. It is said to breed also on Walney Island, but I was unable to find it there, although I searched carefully for it.

Ravenglass. I was told here by one of the fishermen that there were about fifty pairs of these Terns breeding in the sandhills, in eight or nine separate clumps, amongst the large colony of Black-headed Gulls. During one afternoon I found four nests in one spot, and ten nests in another. They were placed very close together, the clump of four covering an area of about one square yard, and the ten nests covering a proportionately small area. In every nest the young were just coming out of the eggs, the clutch having been either three or two eggs. The down of the young was a light grey colour speckled with black. The nests were very slight hollows made in the loose sand, a few of them having a few pieces of dry grass arranged round the edge. The sand was so loose and dry that in many cases almost all trace of nest had disappeared; but where the shape of the nest could be made out, it measured about 5 in. diameter by ½ in. deep. Both these clumps of nests were surrounded by Black-headed Gulls' nests and eggs. The cry of this bird was quite different to that of the Common or Arctic Tern, being shorter, sharper, and stronger. The old birds were Zool. 4th ser. vol. VI., October, 1902.