THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 171 



shared the shelter of the moss, seemed " to exceed 

 the Herring Gulls in the proportion of nearly ten 

 to one." Mr. F. S. Mitchell, who visited Foulshaw 

 moss during the summer of 1885, found, to his 

 surprise, that the Lesser Black-backed Gulls have 

 nearly disappeared from their nursery. Mr. Mitchell 

 informs us that he found the Herring Gull very 

 strongly established, but that he only observed five 

 or six pairs of Larus Fuscus on the moss. 



L. Fuscus. Lesser Black-backed Gull. 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a numerous 

 species, breeding gregariously in four localities, and 

 generally distributed along the coast in winter, 

 many pairs nest upon Bowness, Wedholme, and 

 Solway flows, where the eggs are laid in May. 

 Owing to the destructive propensities of this Gull, 

 many eggs are taken or destroyed at these stations, 

 notwithstanding which, the species does not exhibit 

 any signs of decreasing, f A fourth colony exists on 

 Butterburn flow. 



Two nestling birds in the possession of Mr. B. 

 Mann became great pets. They exhibited great 

 expertness in catching mice, which became a 

 favourite item in their bill of fare. 



The nestling in down is grey, mottled with 

 black, but its texture may be a trifle finer than that 

 of the Herring Gull, which it closely resembles. 



+ The eggs are taken by the keepers, all localities named in this work, as 

 holding breeding birds, being strictly preserved. The authors' thanks are due 

 to various proprietors for permission to visit their properties, whrrh arc closed 

 to collectors. 



