GLAUCOUS GULL. 637 



of both the species of White -winged Gulls included in this 

 work. The habits of this Gull as observed by himself are 

 thus described : — " This species is never known to breed in 

 Shetland. It arrives in that country about the middle of 

 autumn, and leaves it towards the end of spring. Its favourite 

 resorts are the entrances of the more exposed bays ; or the 

 ocean, a few miles off the land, where it is often found assid- 

 uously attending the fishing-boats, to pick up any offal that 

 may be thrown overboard ; and it is often taken by a line 

 and hook baited with fish, when engaged in this pursuit. It 

 is greedy and voracious, to a proverb ; and, when allured by 

 carrion, which seems to be its favourite food, becomes com- 

 paratively indifferent to danger. It then quits the ocean 

 and the headlands, enters the bays, and boldly ventures 

 inland. Its usual deportment is grave and silent, exhibit- 

 ing little of the characteristic vivacity or inquisitiveuess of 

 many of its tribe, and it is roused to exertion chiefly by a 

 sense of danger, or the cravings of hunger. When it flies 

 it extends its wings more, and its flight is also more buoyant 

 than that of the other species of Gull ; and, when not in 

 quest of food, it is of a reserved disposition, seldom coming 

 within the range of a fowling-piece, but soars at a respectful 

 distance, uttering, at intervals, a hoarse scream, of a sound 

 quite peculiar to itself. It exhibits none of that remarkable 

 instinct so pi'edominant in many of the larger species of 

 the genus, which prompts them frequently, at the hazard of 

 their own lives, to warn other animals of the vicinity of the 

 sportsman ; but when once alarmed, it commonly flies off. 

 In the month of November, 1820, I observed a flock of 

 upwards of a hundred' of this species in the Bay of Balta 

 Sound, in Shetland. They remained there for two or three 

 weeks, going out to sea, in search of food, regularly, at a 

 particular period of the tide, and returning to rest for some 

 time in the Bay. During this time I had ample oppor- 

 tunity of observing their appearance and habits, and of com- 

 pletely confirming all the views I had previously entertained 

 concerning them. It is in Unst, the most northerly island 

 of the group, that I have found it most frequently, and 



