THE RED-BILLED GULL 239 



older. Length of the wing, 16.5 inches; of the tarsus, 2.5 inches. Egg — 

 Yellowish grey, blotched with grey and dark brown; length 2.85 inches. 

 Found in New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and all the southern islands 

 of New Zealand. 



This gull breeds on the sea-shore, and on the sandy spits in the 

 river-beds. It has a rongh-looking nest, which is large, and is 

 usually made of grass, but sometimes of small tussocks pulled up 

 by the roots. ]Mr. Potts states that the parent birds defend their 

 nest with great spirit. A pair will drive away and chase a 

 harrier. In the West Coast Sounds the black-backed gull is less 

 gregarious than on the eastern shores. It feeds principally on 

 dead animals of all kinds thrown upon the beach ; but it is not 

 averse to live animals when it can get them. It has discovered a 

 very ingenious way of getting at the soft morsel of the animal of 

 the pipi-shell (Mesodesma) . It picks one up in its bill, flies to a 

 height of fifty feet or so, and then drops the shell on the hard 

 sand. If it is not broken it picks up the shell and drops it again. 

 The bird 's powers of digestion are great. In captivity it has been 

 known to swallow mutton-cutlet bones whole, and gradually digest 

 them. It is a powerful flier, and often soars in circles high up in 

 the air, like an eagle. It is thought that three or four years elapse 

 before the black-backed gull gets its full plumage. 



The Red-billed Gull.— Aklvkl 



Lanis scopuIiHUs. 



White, with pearl-grey back and wings. The first and second quills 

 black with a large spot of white near the tips, most of the others white,^ 

 with a black band near the tips. All tipped with white. Bill and feet 

 red. Bye silvery white. Young, mottled with brown on the back and 

 wings; tail with a narrow sub-terminal band of brown. Bill brown. 

 Feet pale red. Length of the wing, 11 inches; of the tarsus, 1.75 inch. 

 Egg — Yellowish grey, blotched with grey and dark brown; length, 

 2.1 inches. New Zealand, Chatham Islands, Auckland and Campbell 

 Islands. 



This bird freciuents the sea coast, and does not often come 

 inland, but it is abundant in the harbours. The Auckland 

 Islands bird, it is stated, has a thicker bill than the bird from New 

 Zealand. Its flight is light and buoyant, but it rarely goes from 



