V 14 No.4 - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

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216 Short Notes S8 14 (4) egg on 1 July but the Roseate landed at the nest carrying a sandeel and was clearly agitated by our presence. A chick (c. 1 day old) was found 2 m away but we could not be absolutely certain that it was from this nest. As happened in most other parts of Shetland in 1984 this colony failed, and a visit on 7 July found only a few Arctic Terns present, with no sign of the adult Roseate. This constitutes only the fifth Shetland record of Roseate Tern; two were recorded in 1983, one of which associated with displaying Common Terns Sterna hirundo on Bressay in late May (p JE, pers. obs.) . This also represents an extension of breeding range for Roseate Tern - the previous northerly limit being set by 3 pairs which bred in Orkney in 1969 (Cramp et al. 1974). There has been no previous suggestion of Roseate and Arctic Terns interbreeding (Cramp 1985; Nisbet in litt.); these species rarely breed in the same areas. However, the breeding ranges of Common and Roseate Terns overlap considerably and it now appears that hybridisation between these two species is regular on a small scale on both sides of the Atlantic, with mixed pairs often succeeding in fledging hybrid young (eg. Robbins 1974; Hays 1975; Nisbet 1976). All but one of the cases in which the sexes were known involved a female Roseate Tern. Although we did not witness pair behaviour between the Roseate and any Arctic Terns, the most likely interpretation is that a female Roseate Tern paired with a male Arctic Tern, laid an egg, and may have hatched a chick. Cullen (1956) found an excess of unmated males in Arctic Tern colonies on the Fame Islands, many of which persistently attempted to court the mated females throughout the season. A few were accepted by established pairs and assisted with incubation and chick feeding. It is thus perhaps not surprising that a lone female Roseate Tern should accept the advances of a male Arctic Tern. However, we were unable to rule out the possibility that an Arctic Tern became attached to a pair of breeding Roseate Terns. Acknowledgements We thank lan Sandison for the egg photographs, and Drs. Euan Dunn and lan Nisbet for commenting on an earlier draft manuscript. References Cramp, S., Bourne, W.R.P. & Saunders, D. 1974. The Seabirds of Britain and Ireland. Collins: London. Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. IV, Oxford Univ . Press: Oxford. Cullen, J.M. 1956. A study of the behaviour of the Arctic Tern Sterna macrura. D. Phil. thesis, Oxford University. Hays, H. 1975. Probable Common x Roseate Tern hybrids. Auk 92: 219-234. Nisbet,I.C.T. 1976. Early stages in postfledging dispersal of Common Terns. Bird Banding 47: 163-164. Robbins, C.S. 1974. Probable interbreeding of Common and Roseate Terns. Brit. Birds 67: 168-170. P.I. Ewins, Nee, Archway House, 7 £astcheap, Letchworth, Herts SG6 3DG. I.D. Okill & P.M. Ellis, Shetland.
1987 Items of Scottish Interest 217 Items of Scottish Interest Articles and Reports on birds in Scotland, mainly on status and distribution. (Previous lists 14(1) 55-56: 14(2) 87-88; 14(3) 189-190). References from widely available journals British Birds, Bird Study and Ringing and Migration are excluded. Most of these items are available for reference in the Waterston Library. Items marked with an asterisk are also available from the SOC Bird Bookshop post free to SOC members at the prices quoted. The librarian is glad to receive reprints or copies of papers on any aspect of ornithology or general natural history. Scientific papers. Populations of breeding waders Charadrii and their habitats on the crofting lands of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. R.J. Fuller, T.M. Reed, N.E. Buxton, A. Webb, T.D. Williarns & M.W. Pienkowski 1986. Bioi. Conserv. 37: 333-361 . A low-input method of monitoring Kittiwake breeding success. M.P. Harris 1987. Bioi. Conserv. 41 : 1-10. Report on Eagle predation on Lambs in the Glenelg area in 1986. A.F. Leitch, undated (received Apr 87). Published by the author, 56 pp. Heronry report for Loch Lomondside 1986. J. Mitchell 1986. Nature Conservancy Council, SW Region Scotland, I p. Peregrine report for 1986 for Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire. J. Mitchell 1986. Nature Conservancy Council, SW Region Scotland, 2 pp. Demography of Capercaillie in north-east Scotland. I. Determining the age of Scottish Capercaillie from skull and head measurements. R. Moss 1987. Orn. Scand. 18: 129-134. Demography of Capercaillie in north-east Scotland. H. Age and sex distribution. R. Moss 1987. Orn. Scand. 18: 135-140. Demography of Capercaillie in north-east Scotland. HI. Production and recruitment of young. R. Moss & D.N. Weir 1987. Orn. Scand. 18: 141-145. St. Abb's Head seabird sample counts 1986. K.J. Rideout & C.K. Robeson 1986. Nature Conservancy Council, SE Region Scotland, 11 pp. SI. Abb's Head seabird census 1986. C.K. Robeson 1986. Nature Conservancy Council, SE Region Scotland, 9 pp. SI. Abb's Head National Nature Reserve landbird census 1986. C.K. Robeson 1986. Nature Conservancy Council, SE Region Scotland, 12 pp. Forth island bird counts 1986. R.W.J. Smith 1987 . Edin. Nat. Hist. Soc. J. 1986: 27-28. Central/South-West Perthshire Peregrines and Ravens in 1986. P.J. Stirling-Aird 1987. Published by author, 3 pp. Purple Sandpiper studies in north Iceland 1986. R.W. Summers, C.J. Corse & D.P. Whitfield 1987. A Report of the Tay, Orkney and Grampian Ringing Groups' expedition in summer 1986, published privately. Copies are available from R.W. Summers, Leenane, Gong Lane, Burnharn Overy Staithe, King's Lynn, Norfolk. Price £1 plus postage. The birds of SI. Abb's Head. S.R. Warman 1986. History Berwickshire Nats. Club 43: 26-36. A Survey of the numbers and breeding distribution of the North Atlantic Gannet Sula bassana and an assessment of the changes which have occurred since Operation Seafarer 1969170. S. Wanless 1987. Research and Survey in Nature Conservation Series No. 4, lOO pp. Nature Conservancy Council Peter· borough. - 0 .00. Birds, bogs and forestry - the Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. D.A. Stroud, T.M. Reed, M.W. Pienkowski and R.A. Lindsay 1987. Nature Conservancy Council, 121 pp. -£10.00. Some aspects of autumn wader migration across Southern Scotland. T.W. Dougall 1981. Western Naturalist 10: 5-22. This reprint has only recently been received in the Waterston Library.
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Page 13 and 14: 1987 Sea birds of Troup and Pennan
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V 14 No.4 - The Scottish Ornithologists' Club

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