334 BRITISH BIRDS. 



appeared in large flocks,, in company with the Glaucous Gull, in the Firth 

 of Forth^ as "well as off the coast of Cornwall. In England it is of rarer 

 occurrence than in Scotland, and it is supposed to be still rarer in Ireland. 

 Most of the examples obtained on our coasts are in immature plumage. 



The Iceland Gull is only a winter visitor to Iceland. It is believed to be 

 strictly a Nearctic bird, breeding from Alaska and tlie Aleiitian Islands in 

 the west, to Greenland in the east, and most probably in various localities 

 on the intervening coasts of Arctic America. In the Pacific it wanders in 

 winter as far as Japan and California, and in the Atlantic as far as 

 Labrador, the Faroes, and Iceland, and visits the shores of the North Sea and 

 the Baltic. It has occurred once or twice on the north coasts of France ; a 

 single example Avas obtained in Nova Zembla ; and Middeudorff believed 

 that he saw it on the Taimur peninsula. 



The Iceland Gull is a very near ally of the Glaucous Gull, but ap- 

 pears also to be connected with Larua glaucescens through the newly 

 discovered L. kumlieni. The latter species has all the appearance of 

 being a hybrid between the two, and breeds in Cumberland Bay on the 

 west side of Davis Strait, wintering on the coasts of the Northern States. 

 It may always be distinguished by having some pale slate-grey on both 

 webs of the first primary, on the outer web of the second primary, and 

 across the tips of the third and fourth primaries, where it forms a sub- 

 terminal bar. 



The Iceland Gull is practically a resident in the Arctic regions. At the 

 approach of winter it wanders southwards, the immature birds, as is usually 

 the case, going the furthest from home. Probably the old birds seldom 

 wander further from their breeding-grounds than open water, since, Avherever 

 the sea is free from ice, they find abundant food. Faber, who has published 

 the best account of this species, stated that the Iceland Gull arrived on the 

 coasts of Iceland about the middle of September ; they remained through 

 the winter, but decreased in numbers towards the end of April, and by the 

 end of May they had nearly all left the coasts and retired to the high north 

 again. In its winter-quarters it frequents small fjords and inlets. Faber 

 says that they were remarkably tame, and came near the dwellings of the 

 inhabitants to fight with the Ravens for the scraps of food thrown from the 

 houses. It is gregarious and hunts for food, sometimes in large flocks, 

 following the seals to pick up the small fish which these animals disturb. 

 They arc also said to follow in the Avake of codfish for a similar purjDose ; 

 and by the movements of these Gulls the Icelanders are made aware of the 

 appearance of that fish off their coasts. In its flight the Iceland Gull 

 closely resembles its congeners. Sometimes it rises to a great height, and 

 soars round and round, or not unfrequently hovers just above the sea, with 

 head bent downwards, eagerly looking out for food, and often pouncing down 

 to the water with outstretched legs and fluttering wings to pick up something 



