128 THE GULLS 



but confirmation is desirable. The breeding season begins about the first week in 

 May, and, where the nests are much harried, fresh eggs may be found through 

 May and June, but apparently only one brood is normally reared. [F. c. E. J.] 



5. Food. Omnivorous. Food practically the same as that of the herring- 

 gull. [F. B. K.] 



GREAT BLACKBACKED-GrULL [Larva marinus Linnaeus. Cob, 

 parson-mew, saddle-back; baagie (Shetlands). French, goeland a manteau 

 noir ; German, Mantel-Move ; Italian, mignaiaccio]. 



1. Description. This gull can be recognised at once from its congeners 

 by its much greater size, and the dark, slaty black of the back and wing-coverts. 

 Like the lesser blackbacked-gull, it has a vermilion rim to the eyelid, and, like the 

 herring-gull, it has flesh-coloured legs and toes. The iris is yellow. The wing, 

 during flight, shows a white border along both anterior and posterior margins. 

 The sexes are alike, and there is a slight seasonal change of coloration. (PL 106.) 

 Length 30 in. [762-00 mm.]. The scapulars and secondaries have conspicuous 

 white tips : the two outer primaries are peculiar in that the white tips extend 

 back over a much larger area than in either the lesser blackbacked or herring- 

 gulls, while the three succeeding feathers have a large white area at the tip crossed 

 by a subterminal black bar ; the rest of the primaries have white tips. The head, 

 neck, rump and tail, and under parts are pure white. The juvenile plumage 

 resembles that of the lesser blackbacked-gull, from which it can always be dis- 

 tinguished by its much larger size. The adult plumage takes about four years to 

 develop, and follows a course exactly similar to that of the lesser blackbacked 

 and the herring-gull. The black mantle begins to make its appearance at the end 

 of the second year ; later, the white tips begin to appear in the primaries, and the 

 black terminal portion of the tail becomes "invaded" by white. Probably the 

 fully adult dress is not attained till the end of the fifth year, but precise informa- 

 tion on this point is still wanting. The downy young are ash-grey above, mottled 

 with blackish brown spots and bars, which are most conspicuous on the head and 

 neck ; the under parts are white, [w. p. P.] 



2. Distribution. As a breeding species this fine bird is entirely absent 

 from the east of England, while only a few pairs breed in Dorset, Devon, the Scillies 

 and Lundy Island. In Wales, also, many of its former breeding-places on islets 

 in lakes are now deserted, but some still nest on the mainland and in Anglesey, 

 and this is also the case in the Lake district in one locality. In Scotland, however, 



