LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL 153 



voracity, reference may be made to the well-known story — whether 

 true or false — of the stomach of one of these birds having been found 

 to contain part of a fish, to which were attached a couple of hooks, 

 over 30 feet of line, and a 7-lb. stone ! Carrion and garbage of all 

 kinds are also greedily devoured by this black-cloaked robber. As 

 a rule, great black-backs in Scotland and the Isles are found either 

 solitary or in pairs occupying exposed positions on the coasts or the 

 summits of islets in inland lakes. There are, however, islands where 

 fifty or more pairs have been seen nesting in company, sometimes in 

 association with their smaller cousins and herring-gulls. The breeding- 

 places appear to be generally chosen at some little distance from the 

 coast, but may be either on the mainland or on islands of larger or 

 smaller size. The nest is a loosely made structure of considerable size 

 and depth, placed in a hollow of the ground, and, according to one 

 account, formed of dry grass, wool, and heather, but, according to a 

 second, lined with grass, seaweed, and a few twigs. The eggs, which 

 are laid early in May and are generally three in number, vary from about 

 2f to 3q; inches in length, and range from pale creamy buff to light 

 stone with a tinge of olive, upon which are small spots of yellowish or 

 blackish brown with underlying purple markings. Usually the markings 

 are evenly distributed, but they may tend to form a cap at the large 

 end, and occasionally they are larger than ordinary. A uniformly 

 blue egg is known, and there is a second with a blue ground and a 

 few brown markings. 



Lesser Black- Practically a miniature of its larger cousin, the lesser 

 Backed Gull black-backed gull is distinguished by its inferior size 

 (Larus fuseus) ^"^ certain features in regard to the colouring of the 

 primary quills and the legs of the adult referred to 

 below. Unlike the great black-back, this species is, however, confined to 

 the eastern side of the Atlantic (being unknown even in Iceland), where 

 its breeding-range extends eastwards from the Faroes and Scandinavia 

 to the Dwina Valley, and southwards to the Mediterranean. Apparently 

 it does not nest on the coasts of the Arctic Ocean ; and in winter its 

 southern range includes the Canaries, a large part of northern Africa, 

 the Red Sea (where it is reported to be resident), and the eastern end 

 of the Persian Gulf It nests locally in the British Islands from 

 Cornwall and Lundy Island northwards to the Shetlands, but is most 

 numerous in the northern parts of this area. Wherever it nests, it 

 does so in large numbers, sometimes indeed in almost incredible hosts ; 

 Lundy Island, the Fame Islands, and the Faroes being very favourite 



