HERRING GULL. 



LARUS ARGENTATUS. 



Family Larid.^. Genus Larus. 



The Herring Gull is a resident bird amongst us and 

 breeds in suitable spots round our coasts. One of its 

 favourite breeding grounds is the Isle of Wight, where 

 it may be found in large numbers. It is very numerous 

 on the south and west coasts of England. Sometimes 

 this Gull will wander inland, following the course of the 

 rivers. 



In its habits it is similar to the other Gulls: it 

 obtains its name of Herring Gull from the persistent 

 way in which a flock of them will follow a shoal of these 

 fish, a bird every now and then swooping down and 

 picking up one with its bill or catching one with its 

 feet as it skims just over the surface. Its food, 

 however, is by no means confined to fish, and the 

 Herring Gull will eat almost anything it can get hold 

 of — carrion, the dead carcase of a sheep or horse on 

 the beach, young birds, eggs, worms and grain, the 

 refuse thrown over from the fishing boats, which they 



