4 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vi. 



Type ? Caithness (80.7.9.2). Summer plumage. Coll. Col. 

 Irby. Measurements : Wing, 15.80 in. (402 mm.) ; 

 exposed culmen, 1.90. in. (50 mm). 



Besides British specimens 1 have been privileged to 

 examine examples agreeing exactly with the British 

 form {L. juscus britannicus) in the British Museum collec- 

 tion, and in the Hon. Walter Rothschild's Museum at 

 Tring, from the following localities : Fseroes ; northern 

 coast of France (Havre) ; one from the Azores (collected 

 by Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, which is undoubtedly an example 

 of the hght-backed race of L. juscus, but c/. Nov. Zool., 

 Vol. XII., p. 102 ; coast of Portugal (Setubal) ; Malaga 

 in southern Spain ; Algeria (Bone) and Morocco (Tangiers 

 and Oran). 



As regards the dark-backed race {L. juscus juscus) 

 I have examined specimens in the above-mentioned 

 collections from the following places : North Oland and 

 Kalmar (Sweden) ; Bodo (Norway) ; Gotland ; Pskov 

 (Russia) ; and Skaisgirren (East Prussia) ; while Pro- 

 fessor Collett and Professor Lonneberg have been so 

 kind as to send me other examples from Norway and 

 Sweden respectively (Drobak, Barum, and Vaxholm). 



But in addition to these dark-backed birds I have 

 examined others with equally dark backs (which I am 

 unable to separate from examples of L. juscus juscus) from 

 Cyprus, Palestine, and Egypt (Lake Menzaleh, Thebes 

 and Port Said, cj. list). All these birds were taken in 

 April and May, and are in full summer-plumage ; and my 

 opinion is that they represent birds of the typical or 

 Scandinavian race, which had been wintering in the south 

 and were on the point of making their way nortliAvard 

 to breed. It must, however, be stated in passing, that 

 the Lesser Black-backed Gull is said to be resident all the 

 year round in the Red Sea (^ith what truth I have been 

 unable to ascertain) ; and if the statement is correct, or 

 rather if this Gull really breeds there, the birds just 

 referred to from Cyprus, Palestine, and Egypt may of 

 course be representatives of some southern-breeding race. 



