GULLS 301 



proportion to the Glaucous Gull that the Lesser 

 Black-backed Gull does to the Greater Black-backed 

 species. 



HERRING GULL. Larus argentatus, Gmelin. PL 34, 

 fig. 1. Length, 24 in. ; bill, 3 in. ; wing, 17'5 in. ; 

 tarsus, 2*5 in. 



Resident, and common at all seasons on the 

 coast ; the most widely distributed of all our Sea 

 Gulls. Breeds commonly on the Dorsetshire cliffs, 

 and south-west coast generally. In Scotland it breeds 

 inland on the lochs, nesting side by side with Larus 

 fuscus (" Fauna of Sutherland," p. 232), and in Ire- 

 land it is regarded as generally distributed. 



Albino specimens are very rare. One was taken 

 at Weston-super-Mare, January 18, 1896 (L. Hutton, 

 Field, January 25, 1896). Hybrids between this 

 species and the Lesser Black-backed Gull have 

 been reported (Cecil Smith, Zool., 1881, p. 450, 

 and 1883, p. 174). For remarks on Gulls feeding 

 upon grain, see Field, Sept. 23, 1893. 



The Yellow - Legged Herring Gull {Larus 

 cachinnans, Pallas) which supersedes Larus argen- 

 tatus in the Mediterranean [Zool., 1894, p. 58), has 

 once been recognised in this country, one having 

 been shot in Breydon Harbour, Yarmouth, in Nov. 

 1886 {Zool, 1897, p. 572). The typical Herring 

 Gull of the British Islands has the legs and feet 

 flesh colour, like the same parts in the Great Black- 

 backed Gull, from which it may be readily distin- 

 guished by the pale grey colour of the mantle. 



