344 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



Saunders thus writes of this bird : ' To the 

 farmer this gull is a benefactor, devouring large 

 numbers of grubs and worms, while it has been 

 seen to capture cockchafers and moths on the 

 wing ; in fact, it is almost omnivorous.' From 

 its hoarse cackle, it is often called the laughing 

 gull ; also the peewit, or peewit gull. It is sixteen 

 inches in length. 



Like the brown-headed gull, the common gull 

 may frequently be seen feeding on the arable lands 

 of our farms, and is common enough on all our 

 coasts from the autumn to the spring, at the latter 

 season migrating north of the Border for the 

 purpose of breeding. In its summer plumage the 

 head, tail, and under parts are white ; mantle dark 

 gray ; the longest primary feathers are tipped with 

 black, the black portion being starred with three 

 white spots ; the bill and legs greenish-yellow, the 

 former yellow at the tip. In winter the head and 

 neck are streaked and spotted with brown ; the 

 legs pale brown. In length it averages from 

 eighteen to eighteen and a half inches. 



The herring gull, another resident, is one of 

 the largest of the British gulls, measuring from 

 twenty-two to twenty-four inches in length. It is 

 plentiful on all our coasts. It, like the brown- 

 headed and the common gulls, may also be fre- 

 quently seen feeding inland in the corn and 

 turnip - fields. These birds are said to be 

 terrible poachers of the eggs of the gannets 

 and guillemots, swooping down on the nests of 



