GA VIM. 



( 287 ) 



THE GLAUCOUS GULL. 



BURGOMASTER, GOLDEN MAW. 



Larus glaucus. 



Not swiftly but as fly 

 The sea-gulls^ with a steady, sober flight. 



BYRON, Don Juan. 



DURING winter this large Gull is frequently seen on the 

 coast of Berwickshire, but generally in immature mottled 

 plumage, in which stage, Mr. George Bolam remarks, that, 

 even at a distance, it may be distinguished from the young 

 of the Great Black-backed and other Gulls by its steady, 

 soaring flight. 1 A young bird was shot at Eyemouth on 

 the 19th of December 1882. 2 



The Glaucous Gull breeds in the arctic regions, and is 

 only a winter visitor to the British Islands. It is a greedy 

 and voracious bird, and feeds largely upon carrion and gar- 

 bage of all kinds, It frequently robs other Gulls of their 

 prey. 



1 Hist. Ber. Nat. Club, vol. ix. p. 170. 



2 Ibid. vol. x. p. 200. 



