106 OUR RESIDENT BIRDS 



GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL 



(Larus maximus). 



Resident ; but also partially migrator}', as it is dis- 

 tributed pretty generally round our coasts in winter. 

 Its breeding haunts are fewer than the two last species. 

 It nests in fair numbers on Lundy Island, Scilly Isles, 

 in Cornwall, on the Welsh coast, in Cumberland, and at 

 several stations in Scotland and Ireland. 



Observation. Our largest Gull. 



Plumage. Bill yellow. Legs and feet flesh-colour, 

 otherwise it is a larger edition of the Lesser Black-backed 

 Gull. Length 30 in. 



Language. A loud querulous cackling. 



Habits. Generally it resembles the Gull already 

 mentioned. It is crafty, suspicious, and vigilant. It 

 is a noble bird in appearance, and has a strong powerful 

 flight. 



Food. All kinds of animal matters. It devours eggs, 

 and will kill and eat weakly mammals and birds. 



Nest. May. One brood. 



Site. On the top of some stack of rocks, on the ground 

 on cliff-side, sometimes on the shore. 



Materials. Grass, seaweed, &c., with a few feathers 

 and some wool for a lining ; it is ill-compacted and bulky. 



Eggs. Two or three. Greyish brown or buff, spotted 

 and blotched with dark brown and grey. Much larger 

 than any other Gull's egg. 



GREAT SKUA (Megalestris catarrhactes) . 



Chiefly known as a visitor in spring and autumn. In 

 these islands it breeds only in the Shetlands. When 

 not breeding it roams over the seas far from land. 



Plumage. Upper parts mottled with brown and white. 

 Shafts of quills white and conspicuous in flight ; under 

 parts rufous brown. Bill, hooked at tip, legs, and feet 



