I.ARID^.. 



675 





THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED (iULL. 



Larus fuscus, Linnaeus. 



Though resident in the British Islands — except, perhaps, in the 

 north — this species is far more local than the Herring-Gull in its 

 distribution during the breeding-season, owing to its liking for 

 grassy slopes or flat-topped and outlying islands, rather than for 

 precipitous cliffs. Li the south of England its nesting-places are 

 almost confined to Devon and Cornwall ; but several colonies exist 

 in Wales and the Isle of Man ; while on the ' mosses ' and ' flows ' 

 of Cumberland it is so abundant that measures have to be taken to 

 prevent its undue increase ; and, though banished as much as 

 possible from the moors of Northumberland, large numbers nest on 

 the Fame Islands. In Scotland, closely-packed settlements may be 

 found — far too plentifully for game-preservers — up to the northern- 

 most Shetlands ; and especially along the western coast within the 

 shelter of the Outer Hebrides, whereas the Herring-(iull predominates 

 on the far side of that group. In Ireland, where the species is found 



