1^8 



GULL GROUP 



gulls of which stragglers have wandered to Great Britain, as a specimen 

 of the great black-headed gull {Lams iditJiydetus) was shot at Exmouth 

 in 1859. This species, which breeds on the lower part of the Volga 

 and round the great lakes of Central Asia, differs from all the above 

 b)' its superior size, measuring 26 inches in length. 



Little Gull 

 (Larus minutus). 



The little gull, or, as it might well be called, the 

 lesser black-headed gull, is the second indigenous 

 British representative of the black-headed group, 

 and the last species included in the typical genus Lams, of which it 

 is the smallest known member. By its diminutive size and the deep 



black head of the adult in 

 summer it is readily distin- 

 guished from the laughing 

 gull. The little gull is 

 an eastern species, ranging 

 from the lakes and marshes 

 of Amurland and the Sea 

 of Okhotsk westward across 

 temperate Asia and the 

 greater part of Europe to 

 visit the British Islands in 

 variable numbers, mostly 

 during autumn and winter, 

 and in the latter season 

 journeying as far south 

 as the Mediterranean. 

 Naturally, with such a distribution, the bulk of the wanderers to the 

 British Islands arrive in the southern and eastern counties of England : 

 in Ireland the species is very rare, while in the north of Scotland it 

 seems to be unknown, although it has been recorded from the Faroes. 

 Both in summer and winter these pretty little gulls associate in large 

 colonies ; they feed partly on fishes and partly on crustaceans and 

 worms, but are also said to hawk dragon-flies on the marshes after 

 the manner of nightjars. Very generally they build in company with 

 the common tern, from the eggs of which their own appear to be 

 indistinguishable ; both sexes taking their turn at incubating. The 

 nest is built of marsh-plants, and is often almost floating ; and there 

 are usually three eggs, although occasionally four. 



In addition to being the smallest of its tribe, not exceeding i i 

 inches in length, this species is readily recognised, when adult, by the 



MOUNTED IN THE ROA 



LITTLK GfLI- UINTKK 



