A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 270. Brown-headed Gull. Larus ridihundus, Linn. This abundant and resident species is seen at all times of the year but is most common in winter. Great extremes in the variety of types are noticeable both in the young in down and the eggs of this species. During one day at the Bog of the Ring, Tullamore, Ireland, by far the largest breeding station in the British Islands, I picked up and handled some hundreds of nestlings, and out of these I kept one almost entirely yellow with hardly a dark patch and another so dark that there was hardly any yellow noticeable. 271. Common Gull. Laius canus, Linn. A common winter visitor. 272. Herring-Gull. Larus argentatus^ J. F. Gmelin. A very common resident which breeds in small numbers on the clifF near Newhaven and at the clifF to the westward of Belle Tout Lighthouse, Eastbourne (Borrer). 273. Lesser Black-backed Gull. Larusfuscus, Linn. A few adult lesser black-backs visit the coast of Sussex every spring and remain throughout the summer, whilst in the autumn immatures take their place and occasionally spend the winter with us. It is doubtful whether it breeds nearer to the Sussex coast than the Isle of Wight. 274. Great Black-backed Gull. Larus marinus, Linn. A regular winter visitor in small numbers. These are generally immatures. 275. Glaucous Gull. Larus ghiiicus, Fabri- cius. A rare winter visitor, appearing as a rule after continuous and heavy gales from the north. Although I went regularly to the Orkney Islands for the purpose of shooting this and the next named species I only once was so fortunate as to see and capture speci- mens. This was in the severe winter of 1884, and following a week of the severest snowstorms I can remember. 276. Iceland Gull. Larus leucopterus, Faber. Rarer and more irregular in its appearance than the last named species. 277. Kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla (Linn.) The kittiwake is found off the Sussex coast, generally at some distance from land, at all seasons, but it is most common in winter. It does not now breed in Sussex. 278. Ivory Gull. Pagophila ehurnea (Phipps). The late Mr. Knox stated that the ivory gull had been obtained twice within the county, and that he had seen a specimen which had been found in a dying state at St. Leonards-on-Sea. Two other examples are supposed to have occurred (Borrer). 279. Great Skua. Megalestris catarrhactes (Linn.) A rare winter visitor. In confinement this fine bird makes a very tame and agree- able pet. One that I kept for some time would follow me about like a dog. It was a most voracious feeder and would swallow a squirrel whole without any apparent incon- venience. 280. Pomatorhine Skua. Ste torhinus (Temminck). A scarce and irregular winter visitor. 281. Richardson's Skua. Stercorarius crepi- datus (J. F. Gmelin). A late autumn and winter visitor. I once had a fine view of the migration of this interesting bird whilst passing Cape Finisterre in Spain. As the ship in which I sailed turned northward and towards the English Channel we met large flocks of Richardson's skua flying in a southerly direction. Most of the groups were composed of some twenty individuals, but sometimes there were as many as fifty, the light and dark forms being apparently equally numerous. Now and again I noticed what was apparently a perfectly black bird without any of the golden feathers at the back of the head. The skuas seemed to fly slowly and easily and kept a considerable interval between each member of the parties. Altogether quite eight or nine hundred adult birds of this species passed close to the ship in the space of two hours, and I saw no immatures. This occurred on November 10, 1893. 282. BufFon's Skua. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linn.) The late Mr. Borrer records two instances of the occurrence of this, the rarest of the skuas, in Sussex, and also states that Mr. Booth secured several in adult plumage in the spring of 1875. 283. Razorbill. Alca tarda, Linn. The razorbill is very common at some distance from the coast at all seasons of the year. Only a very (ew breed on the Sussex cliffs. 296
