Page:VCH Leicestershire 1.djvu/191

 BIRDS [Roseate Tern. Sterna dougalli, Montagu. This rare summer visitant is included in the Leices- tershire list on the authority of Harley, who wrote : 'The author has an opportunity afforded him of re- cording its visit to his native county, the bird having been shot by Chaplin on Groby Pool in the year 1836. The example was examined by us, and was correctly described shortly after its capture. The pectoral feathers down to the vent were of a roseate hue, denoting its distinctive race. Moreover, there were some other peculiarities equally as obvious be- longing to the example, which we were careful to examine, and which could not be mistaken by us we refer to its bright orange feet. The bird was shot about the period of the summer solstice. It was pre- served, but was suffered to go to decay in consequence of the ignorance of the artist who prepared the skin, making use of improper ingredients for that purpose.' I cannot but think some mistake has been made, Harley probably not being aware that most of the white-breasted terns have, when in breeding plumage and alive, or a short time after death, the breast suffused with a roseate tinge. The ' bright orange ' feet depend upon how far the orange was translated by Harley in the direction of red, the feet of Sterna dougalli being described by Dresser as ' reddish orange,' and by other authors as 'red.'] 189. Common Tern. Sterna jluviatilis, Naumann. Of accidental occurrence on spring and autumn migration. Harley wrote : ' I recollect seeing several birds of this species a few years since hovering over the River Soar close to the town of Leicester, immedi- ately below the castle, busily engaged in taking small fish. It has been shot in most parts of the county, but especially in the vicinity of the Soar and Trent.' A specimen is recorded in the museum donation- book as having been shot at Leicester on 1 3 Nov., 1858 ; another (a female) at Saddington Reservoir on 15 Oct., 1881, by the late Dr. Macaulay ; a third at Aylestone, on 29 Oct., 1881, by Mr. E. Batten, and a fourth a female, and, like the last, in immature plumage at Saddington Reservoir, on 1 6 Oct., 1886, by Mr. A. K. Perkins. The three last examples are now in the museum. Mr. Ingram informed me that it visits the Belvoir Lake occasionally, generally after strong easterly gales. An immature specimen was shot on Saddington Reservoir in 1895. Mr. O. Murray-Dixon saw one 12 May, 1903, at Swithl.ind Reservoir, and Mr. G. Frisby reports that four of these birds were very busy taking small fish from the surface of the water on 20 Sept. 1906. 190. Arctic Tern. Sterna macrura, Naumann. Locally, Sea Swallow (applied to all Terns). Of accidental occurrence on vernal and autumnal migration. Harley recorded that in the spring of 1842, during the prevalence of north-west gales, this species was unusually abundant in the county, especially from 7 to to May, when they might be seen ' in small groups, varying in number from a single bird up to ten, fifteen, and even twenty individuals ' on the streams and pools, and he saw numbers along the Rivers Soar and Trent. I procured a beautiful adult male in perfect plumage at Saddington Reservoir on 25 May, 1886, and saw at Kibworth a mounted specimen which had been shot at Thornton some years previously. Mr. O. Murray-Dixon saw one at Swithland Reservoir, 3 May, 1904. The late Dr. Macaulay reported one shot at Saddington Reservoir on 17 Aug. 1888, by Mr. A. Perkins. Dr. J. Young of Narborough presented to the museum a male specimen which was killed by flying against the telegraph wires on 14 Aug. 1890. 191. Little Tern. Sterna minuta, Linn. A new record for the county was created by Mr. Alick Duncan of Knossington Grange, who wrote under date 2 Oct., 1901, that he had seen a strange bird like a tern, but smaller, flying over a small pond in front of the house : ' The tail was quite short and not forked, the back was a very light slatish grey colour, looking in the distance a greyish white ; the breast was white, the head seemed to have a black spot between the eye and some black in front, a little white showing also ; the beak was a little over an inch long and quite black. The bird kept very close to the water, flew quickly, but with a floppy motion, rather like a bat, and picked the flies off the surface of the water, leaving a little ring where its beak touched the water. It had a very silent flight and was quite tame, often coming within six yards of where I stood. I watched it for nearly two hours before it settled, which it did on the edge of the water ; it was too dark to see whether it really settled or only stood in it; it then flapped its wings about in the water and flew to the bank, where I left it. I was not able to see its legs.' The next day it was shot and proved to be, as may be supposed, the little tern in immature plumage. 192. Little Gull. Larus minuttis, Pallas. A very rare straggler from the coast. Elkington recorded a specimen which was shot between Old Belgrave Locks and Lady Bridge. In support of this Mr. W. J. Horn has called my attention to the following, contributed by a Mr. Thomas Goatley to the Zoo/, for 1867, p. 991 : ' I have just seen two birds which I believe are of very rare occurrence in this country, namely, the little stint, Trixga minuta, and the little gull, Larus minutus. They were both shot in the Abbey Meadow, close to the town of Leicester, in January last, and stuffed by Mr. Elking- ton of that place, who sold them to Mr. Mansfield of Birmingham, birds'-eye maker, and in whose possession they are now. I have a letter from Mr. Elkington containing the names of the two gentlemen who shot the birds and describing the Abbey Meadow as a very large field of grassland, bounded on one side by the canal and on the other by the " old Soar," and in winter time often overflowed with water.' [See also Little Stint, 1 76 ante.] An immature specimen shot by Wesley, late gamekeeper, at Bradgate Reservoir in the winter of 1889 is now in the museum and is probably the only authentic local specimen. 193. Black-headed Gull. Larus ridibundus, Linn. Locally, Peewit Gull, Red-legged Gull. An accidental straggler in spring and autumn. Mr. Bloxam in his MS. notes says : ' Peewit gull is not uncommon about Ashby Wolds ; I had a young one shot this summer there.' An immature bird in the possession of Mr. T. Stevenson, of Kibworth, was shot some years ago at Thornton Reservoir. The museum possesses a pair in immature plumage, said to have been shot at Belgrave on 3 Nov. 1881. 153 20