658 HERRING-GULL. 



coasts of Arabia, India, China and Japan in winter. In Northern 

 Siberia, however, from the Petchora to the Lena delta, the repre- 

 sentative during the summer months is L. affinis of Reinhardt : a 

 fairly defined species, with yellow legs and feet and with a mantle 

 almost as dark as in some examples of our Lesser Black-backed 

 Gull, though the outer primaries exhibit in the basal portion that 

 characteristic grey ' wedge ' which is not found in L. fuscus. This 

 Siberian Herring-Gull passes the summer in the then continuous 

 light of the Arctic regions, and the winter in the sunshine of the 

 south of Europe, Asia &c. ; it has occurred several times on Heligo- 

 land, once in Holland, once in Greenland, and may very likely visit 

 the British Islands. In the eastern portion of North America our 

 Herring-Gull has been found on the coasts and inland waters from 

 Melville Peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico. 



The nest, formed of grass, is usually on the ledges of cliffs, but 

 may also be on flat ground — or even on trees, in some parts of North 

 America where the bird has been plundered by fishermen. The 

 eggs, often laid by the first week in May, and usually 3 in 

 number, are light olive-brown, blotched and spotted with dark 

 umber ; but the ground-colour is sometimes green, pale blue, or 

 ochre-yellow: average measurements 2*9 by i"95 in. This species 

 may sometimes be seen searching for worms, slugs, grubs &c., inland, 

 while it devours newl3^-sown grain, and freely scoops out the bulbs 

 of turnips ; its principal food, however, is obtained along the shore 

 or on the sea, and its trivial name is supposed to be owing to its 

 habit of following shoals of herring-fry. Like other large Gulls, it is a 

 great robber of eggs ; and when, at some noted and accessible breed- 

 ing-place of sea-fowl, such as Lundy Island, a gun is fired by a 

 tourist-party for the childish pleasure of seeing an immense number 

 of birds on the wing, then is the opportunity of the Herring-Gulls, 

 and every unprotected egg of Guillemot or Gannet is swept from the 

 ledges in an instant ! 



The adult in summer has the head, tail and under parts white ; 

 mantle french-grey ; secondaries tipped with white ; outer primaries 

 chiefly black, with white tips and large sub-apical ' mirrors,' while a 

 pale grey ' wedge ' runs down the inner webs, increasing in size 

 on the inner primaries successively, until the grey becomes the pre- 

 dominating colour; bill yellow, red at the angle; orbital-ring pale 

 yellow; legs and feet flesh-colour. Length 22-24 in., wing i6-5- 

 17*25 in. ; the male being larger than the female. In winter the head 

 and neck are streaked with grey. The voung are mottled with brown, 

 and full plumage is not acquired (in captivity) until the fifth year. 



