coast from Cape Town to East London, and he also occasionally saw
it at Natal Point.
Mr. Andersson gives the following a c c o u n t “ This is a very
common Gull all along the south-west coast of Africa, from Walwich
Bay to Table Bay. It is a most voracious feeder, preying on the
carcasses of dead whales and seals, and also devouring freely dead
rats, birds, or fish, as well as worms, insects, and shell-fish; besides
which it is very destructive to the eggs of other sea-fowl. I have
been assured on excellent authority that it carries off whole, and
with perfect facility, the eggs of Penguins and Gannets to some
distant rock, where it devours them at leisure. It is also said that
this Gull has the singular habit of destroying its own eggs if it finds
that its nest is in danger of being robbed of them by any person
who is seeking to gather them. The breeding-places of these species
are the rocky islets off the south-west coast, to which it resorts for
the purpose of incubation about the month of December. Its eggs
vary much in colour, being of various shades of green, drab, or
brown, profusely blotched and spotted with dark brown, especially
at the larger end.”
Back, sooty-black; quill-feathers jet black, tipped with white;
near the end of the outermost a white spot; ends of the smaller
wing-feathers also white; rest of the plumage pure white; bill
yellow, with knob near the tip of the lower mandible scarlet.
Length, 24 ; wing, 17"; tail, 7^". Young : throughout mottled
brown and white; bill almost black; irides rich warm brown; legs
livid flesh-colour.
673. L ards hart laubi Bruch. Hartlaub’s Gull.
Larus poiocephalus (part.), Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 368.
This species closely resembles the next in colour and size, but
never appears to possess the gray hood, characteristic of the true
L. phceocephalus. It is extremely common in Table Bay all the
year round, and extends up the west coast. It breeds in thousands
on the islands in St. Helena Bay and Saldana Bay. The eggs are
light green spotted with dark brown and purple, but they vary in
both ground and colour of markings. Axis 1" V", diam. 1" 6"'.
674. L ards phceocephalds, Swains. African Grey-headed Gull.
Larus poiocephalus, Layard, B. S. Afr. pi. 368.
This bird never to our knowledge appears in Table Bay, where it
is replaced by L. hartlaubi. We killed two out of four, which we
saw at Zoetendals Vley in November, 1863.
We took three broken eggs, floating on the vley, which we think
can only belong to this species ; they are greenish-brown, profusely
spotted with brown and purple; axis, 2" 1"'; diam., 1" 6"'.
In the fresh specimens we were much struck with the exceeding
beauty of the lovely delicate roseate tint which pervaded the whole
of the under side; this faded very rapidly after death; but we think
it was the most lovely colour we ever beheld. We have never
noticed the faintest approach to this tint in any bird killed in Table
Bay, nor in the living example of L. hartlaubi, which we kept for' a
short time in our garden.
It has been found near Golesberg by Mr. Arnot, and Captain
Watson saw it abundantly and obtained it at the mouth of the
Umphaloose River, east of Natal. Though he was there in the winter
he assured us that all the specimens he saw were hooded as in the
birds he showed us. Mr. Ayres says that these Gulls “ frequent the
Bay of Natal, frequently alighting on stakes or dead branches of trees
which may be above the water. They do not appear to be gregarious.”
Mr. Andersson says that in Damara Land it is found both on the
sea-coast and on the inland watersheds. It is rather a scarce species
at Walwich Bay, but more common at Lake N’gami. It generally
occurs singly.
General colour of back, cinereous; a hood of the same colour, but
lighter, covers the head, chin, and upper portion of the neck ; wing-
feathers black, faintly tipped with white ; a white spot on the two
outermost near the tip, and a broad band across some of the others
towards the centre; the rest of the plumage fine white, tinted in life
with a lovely pink; bill and feet, deep crimson; legs flesh-colour;
irides white; cere round the eye as in legs. Length, 16"; wing,
12|"; tail, 5".
Fig. Swains, B. W. Afr. pi. 39.
675. H ydrochelidon hybrida [Pall.). Whiskered Tern.
According to Mr. J. Kotze, this species used to breed regularly
on a vley half way between his residence and the mouth of the Berg
River. The year of our visit not a bird was to be seen for some
weeks after our arrival, though we often passed the vley. At last one
morning early while going along the vley, Mr. Kotze exclaimed, “ There