9* BRITISH BIRDS. WITH THEIR NESTS AND EGGS. 



feathers mottled and barred with blackish-brown, but without a well defined band 

 as in most of the Gulls. 



This species goes through almost the same changes in its progress towards 

 maturity, as those already described under the Lesser Black-backed Gull. 



In their fifth or sixth year they assume their nuptial dress for the first time ; 

 and at the close of the breeding season they change into their true, and what will 

 be their anmial, winter garb, which only differs from their summer plumage in 

 showing greyish-brown streaks on the crown and nape. These will be the only 

 two changes that this Gull will annually exhibit for the rest of its life. 



" The Great Black-backed Gull," writes Macgillivray, and his description is so 

 full and interesting that we make no excuse for quoting the following lengthy 

 extract, " is among the most beautiful of a tribe remarkable for beauty. The 

 contrast between the dark purple tint of his back and wings and the snowy white 

 of the rest of his plumage .... renders him an object at all times agreeable to 

 the sight. No sprinkling of dust, no spot of mud, ever soils his downy clothing ; 

 his bill exhibits no tinge derived from the subject of his last meal, bloody or half 

 putrid though it be ; and his feet, laved by the clear brine, are ever beautifully 

 pure 



"When watching for Eagles in a covered pit, I have seen it come to the 

 carrion, alight at a little distance, look around, walk up to it with short steps, 

 and commence tugging at the entrails or tearing morsels from the flesh. In this 

 it is sometimes joined by the Herring Gull. Should a Raven arrive, the Gulls 

 continue their repast, the parties not interfering with each other if the object be 

 large ; but to the eagle, whether the Golden or the White-tailed, they feel 

 obliged to yield, retiring to a short distance, and walking impatiently about, 

 until the unwelcome intruder departs .... Vigilant and suspicious, it is not 

 easily approached at any season, it being of all our Gulls that which forms the 

 most correct estimate of the destructive powers and propensities of man. Chief 

 of its tribe, and tyrant of the seas, it evinces a haughty superiority which none 

 of our aquatic species seem inclined to dispute. Little disposed to associate with 

 its inferiors, it passes its leisure hours, or periods of repose on unfrequented 

 parts of the sands, or on shores, or islets, often on the bosom of the sea just 

 behind the breakers, where it floats lightly on the waves, presenting a beautiful 

 appearance as it rises and falls on the ever-varying surface. In winter it is 

 scarcely gregarious, more than a few individuals being seldom seen together ; but 

 when there are shoals of fish in the bays or creeks, it mingles with the other 

 Gulls, from which it is always easily distinguished by its superior size and very 

 loud and clear cry, which may be heard in calm weather at the distance of a 



