GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 213 



Great Black-backed Gull. Lams marinus Linn. 



The Great Black-backed Gull (Plate 93) ranges over northern 

 Europe, Greenland, and eastern North America, and migrates 

 south in winter, reaching the Mediterranean and Florida. It. 

 breeds plentifully in Scotland, the Scottish islands, and north 

 and west Ireland, even in some inland localities, but in western 

 England and Wales it is not abundant in summer, and on the 

 south coast there are few nesting pairs and none on the east. 

 In winter it is present in estuaries and along the coast in 

 considerable numbers, for there is a general southward move- 

 ment. 



The size of the bird and its very dark mantle distinguish 

 it from the Lesser Black-back and all other gulls. When rest- 

 ing with other gulls on the banks or sand it stands, a black- 

 backed giant, dwarfing even the Herring-Gulls, and making 

 the Black-heads look mere pygmies. Considering its tyrannical 

 and predacious habits, it is extraordinary how peacefully small 

 gulls will stand or rest beside it ; it is a confirmed bird eater. 

 On the wing its movements are easy and deliberate ; it sails 

 lightly in spite of its bulk, and often soars to an immense 

 height. It is rarely met with inland. Little is known about 

 its migrations beyond the fact that there is a great increase in 

 numbers in all parts after the nesting season. For over a 

 week in early October I watched the passage of this and the 

 smaller bird, and though the Great Black-back was not so 

 abundant as the Lesser, very large numbers passed all day and 

 every day. Many of these rested on the wide expanse of the 

 Humber " clays," which, as far as the eye could reach, was 

 spotted with the conspicuous birds ; all, however, were coasting 

 south, and did not appear to have crossed the North Sea. In 

 winter the bird is common in the Lancashire and Cheshire 

 estuaries, and along the sandy shores, though only a few 

 scattered pairs nest on the North Wales coast. 



