GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 341 



dotterels are all busily occupied with the same object, 

 and in the early autumn all are so fearless on their 

 first arrival that with the aid of a glass their every 

 action may be observed without difficulty. Alas, that 

 their confidence should so often lead to their destruc- 

 tion ! Some very interesting remarks on this subject 

 from the pen of Mr. Stevenson will be found in the next 

 article ; and, having introduced the feeding-ground, I 

 will leave him to describe one of its most distinguished 

 frequenters. 



LARUS MARINUS, Linnaeus. 



GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 



" This," says Mr. Stevenson, " is the largest and 

 most abundant species on our coast, and though 

 breeding nowhere in our neighbourhood it is seen in 

 jQocks throughout the year. During a recent visit to 

 Hunstanton in May and June, the great black-backed 

 gulls in their immature dress — for none of them had 

 attained their full plumage — were decidedly the common 

 gull of the district. Through the glass I have counted 

 more than a hundred at one time resting in groups 

 upon the sands, waiting for the receding tide to lay bare 

 their feeding-grounds on the scalps. These groups 

 exhibit every variety of immature plumage, from the 

 young brown bird of the previous summer to the nearly 

 adult specimen, with more grey than brown on the back 

 and wings, and the head and under parts of the body 

 pure white. It is a beautiful sight on a bright sunny 

 day to watch unobserved a large flock of these noble 

 birds, some lazily squatting on the dry sand, others 

 dozing on one leg with the head thrown back upon the 

 shoulders, and the beak buried in the feathers of the 

 back. Here and there a more restless bird paces up 

 and down, and with head erect and open bill gives forth 

 at intervals its harsh barking note. Disturbed from 

 their siesta by approaching footsteps, one by one they 

 spread their wide pinions, and, running a few paces, 



