Birds of Britain 



them do so in captivity. Having marked some food at the 

 bottom of the water, they rise to a height of about four feet 

 and forcibly precipitate themselves into the water with half- 

 open wings ; they are nevertheless extremely buoyant, and 

 occasionally bob up on to the surface again before they 

 have attained their object. 



An isolated " stack " or islet in a loch is commandeered 

 by a pair of these birds for their summer home. The 

 nest, composed of grass and rubbish, is usually placed on 

 the highest point. They lay two or three eggs, which are 

 stone buff in colour, blotched and spotted with light 

 brown and grey. 



The most usual note is a deep " ow, ow, ow." In plumage 

 the adult is almost the counterpart of the preceding, 

 but the legs are flesh-coloured. Length 23 in. ; wing 

 19 in. 



The young are mottled and barred with various shades 

 of brown and buff, but are rather lighter in colour than those 

 of the Herring Gull. The adult plumage is assumed by 

 precisely the same stages as in the other species, and they 

 may occasionally become fully adult in their third summer. 



THE GLAUCOUS GULL 



Larus glaucus, O. Fabricius 



This large white-winged Gull is an annual visitor to the 

 north of Scotland, but southwards it becomes scarcer, and it 

 is only in very severe weather that it visits the south of 



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