2 GREY PHALAROPE,
two. Shortly after, the pair got on wing nnd moved a taw hundred yards further out to sea, uud having ascertained
that they were in excellent plumage, we again hauled down a boat belonging to a friend in which I had
previously been nlloat and shot a I/mg-tailed Skua sheltering from the gale in the smooth water near the pier.
The flag at the signal-station on the esplanade prohibiting beach-boats that ply for hire to put out had been
hoisted on account of the gale to prevent accidents, nnd we could not have gone afloat had we not taken
possession of and used a private boat. The birds were both turned over by the tirst barrel, nnd proved to hit
iu very handsome clear grey plumage. Nearly the whole of the l'halaropes obtained at this time were in very
poor condition, uud these were the only pair, with the exception of two exceedingly large birds shot in the
marshes between 1-unciug and Worthing, Hint could be considered up to the mark, these four being both plump
and heavy. The immense flocks which appeared at this time seem to have been blown ashore along the whole
d the south coast; they were mentioned iu the papers us having been particularly numerous about Plymouth
and still further west. It is evident that the Phalarope must pass our coasts regularly every autumn, though
we only notice the species in any numbers after heavy gales from the south or east, when the greater part of
the unfortunate travellers are disabled by the rough weather, and have not strength to continue their journey,
being forced to seek shelter till the storm has blown over. On the evening of November 1st, 1S73, while
steaming past the entrance to Lowestoft harbour, our vessel nearly ran over one of these birds tloaliug quietly
on the long rollers caused by the strong tide rushing through the narrow channel inside the sands.
As daylight was closing in on a stormy night in November 1570, I detected one of these birds running
round a smull puddle of rain-water on the King's Road at Brighton, near the west end of the town.
The Phalarope feeds on tiny flies and small water-insects, which it takes while swimming or running over
the muds or among the blades of grass. 1 have often watched them picking up their prey w ithiu the distance
of a few yards, nnd they have taken not the slightest notice of our presence.
I