A BIRDLQVE R'S YEAR 



its breeding- places being found in Spitzbergen 

 and other far northern regions. 



The Glaucous Gull (Larus glaucus) is the 

 largest of all British visiting gulls. This 

 is an essentially old world Arctic bird, and 

 only wanders in winter to temperate and 

 tropical regions. 



The Iceland Gull (Larus leucopterus) is 

 another rare British visitor from Arctic 

 regions. 



Sabine's Gull (Xema sabinii) is distin- 

 guished by the forking of its tail ; it is not 

 a very uncommon straggler to the British 

 Isles, its breeding quarters being in Arctic 

 America and Siberia. Mention must also 

 be made of the visits of the Little Gull 

 (Larus minutus), but all these latter birds 

 are only rarely to be seen and their appear- 

 ance cannot be forecast with any certainty. 



Closely allied to the gulls are the skuas, 

 though the late Mr. Howard Saunders con- 

 sidered that they formed a family by them- 

 selves. These birds are predaceous in their 

 habits and their build. They eagerly devour 

 the smaller water-birds and their eggs as 

 well as fish and carrion. The skuas rarely 

 take the trouble to fish for themselves, but 



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