GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 291 



markings being in the form of spots rather than 

 blotches, but they require careful identification, espe- 

 cially in localities where the Lesser Black-backed Gull 

 breeds in company with this species. 



Family LARID/E. Genus Larus. 



Sub-family LARINM. 



GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 



Larus marinus, Liiinmis. 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, May and early June. 



British breeding area: The Black-backed Gull 

 breeds nowhere along the eastern coast-line of England, 

 and only sparingly on the south coast in Dorset ; on the 

 west it does so in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, Lundy, 

 here and there on the Welsh coast, and probably in the 

 Solway district. \n Scotland, however, it becomes 

 commoner and more generally dispersed, especially 

 along the west coast, notably in the Hebrides, including 

 St. Kilda, and on the north, including the Orkneys and 

 the Shetlands. It is also widely dispersed in Ireland, in 

 districts suited to its habits. 



Breeding habits : The Great Black-backed Gull is 

 a resident in our islands, but more widely dispersed in 

 winter than in summer. Its favourite breeding-places 

 are ranges of ocean cliffs, more especially rock-stacks, 

 and less frequently small islands in mountain lochs, even 

 at some distance inland. In some places it may be met 

 with breeding in small colonies, but more usually in 

 scattered pairs. This fine Gull probably pairs for life, 

 and may be found breeding year after year in one 



