196 On the Occurrence of the Bonapartian Gull in Europe. 



three miles from Belfast on the 23rd of December 1847. It came 

 under my examination within an hour after being killed, and a 

 full description of it was drawn up. This bird was preserved by 

 Mr. Darragh, the Curator of the Belfast Museum, who possesses 

 a critical knowledge of our native birds generally, and who, when 

 visiting Strangford Lough in January last, a few weeks after 

 having set up the specimen, saw another of these birds both on 

 the 18th and 19th of that month at Rough Island. It was also 

 adult, as denoted by its pure white tail. The diminutive size of 

 the bird first attracted his attention, and he had the advantage of 

 seeing it very near both on wing and on the ground. The dark 

 colour of the under side of the wings was conspicuous ; the tail 

 was square at the end (not cuneate as in L. Rossii*, nor forked 

 as in Lar. Sabini) . The upper surface of the wing, including the 

 primaries, was particularly remarked to be wholly of a light colour. 

 My informant's fear of injuring the bird as a specimen with the 

 large shot in his gun prevented his firing at it when seen the first 

 day; and on the second day, he had crept for a long way — after the 

 manner that Mr. Scrope graphically describes the deer-stalker 

 to do — and though enabled unseen by the wished-for victim to 

 observe it attentively for some time from behind stones on the 

 beach, and at the distance of about fifteen or twenty paces, he 

 could not bring his gun to bear upon it without alarming it. In 

 his attempt to do so the bird took wing, but the rough nature of 

 the ground prevented his steadying himself so as to get even a 

 parting shot at it. The little gull has been hitherto known in 

 Ireland only from a single example ; a beautiful bird in adult 

 summer plumage having been shot on the river Shannon in the 

 month of May 1840. 



We cannot think of the occurrence of the three preceding spe- 

 cies of Xema or Black-headed Gulls within so limited an area, 

 without reflecting that many species of birds of which we are 

 now ignorant, may visit the British coasts. If in the estuary at 

 Belfast, on the eastern coast of Ireland, North American spe- 

 cies are thus met with, how much more likely are they to visit, 

 unnoticed by any one, the western and northern coasts of the 

 island, as well as those of Scotland ! 



Of the other Xemce known as British, X. ridibundus and X. ca- 

 pistratus (regarded by me as one species t) are common in the 



* This species is noticed under the supposition that it may in winter lose 

 the hlack collar, which would otherwise distinguish it. A specimen of L. 

 Rossii is said to have been obtained on the Yorkshire coast last year. 



t See Zool. Proceedings, 1845 ; — copied into the ' Annals,' vol. xvi. 

 p. 357, and Yarrell's ' Brit. Birds,' 2nd edit. ; preface, p. xi. In the three 

 works, the last word of the foot-note is printed "hood " instead of head. 



