GULL. 



681 



almost invariably mottled, and as they do not acquire 

 the adult plumage till three years, and differ a little 

 in each year, there has been a great deal of unneces- 

 sary multiplication of species. The full-grown ones 

 moult twice in the year, and the principal seasonal 

 distinction is more white in the winter than the 

 summer. Between the sexes there is little difference, 

 except that, the male is larger than the female. Some 

 species breed on the cliffs, and others in the marshes 

 and by the margins of the pools inland, it being un- 

 derstood that the rock-breeders are more exclusively 

 iishers, while the marsh-breeders feed more upon 

 garbage, worms, and other small animals. All of 

 them are, however, very miscellaneous in their feed- 

 ing, and they have been not inaptly styled the vultures 

 of the sea. When they congregate in numbers to 

 breed, they are exceedingly clamorous ; and they 

 often collect at other times in vast numbers at parti- 

 cular places of the shore, when they are equally 

 noisy. It is understood that these clamorous meet- 

 ings are certain indications of bad weather, more 

 especially when the marsh-breeders quit the sea and 

 fly inland. The flesh of old birds of all the species 

 is tough, and rank in the flavour, though it is readily 

 eaten by the Greenlanders, the Esquimaux, and other 

 tribes of the extreme north. The fact is, that the 

 flavour of rancid iish-oil, which is so offensive to us, 

 is the choicest relish to these people. The young of 

 some of the species are sold in the markets in various 

 parts of this country, and are not unpleasant food. 

 The eggs of many are also eaten in great numbers. 

 There is still some doubt as to the number of species, 

 and, from what we have mentioned of the changes of 

 colour, the subject is one of considerable difficulty, 

 therefore we shall mention only the principal ones. 



BLACK-BACKED GCLL (L. marinus). This species 

 is found generally diffused over the seas of both 

 continents and in both hemispheres ; though on our 

 own shores at least it is not so plentiful as several of 

 the others, occurring most frequently in pairs, and 

 seldom in flocks of more than a dozen. It remains in 



Black-backed Gull. 



the same haunts all the year round, but those haunts 

 are rather particular spots. It is the largest species 

 of the genus, measuring at least two feet and a half 

 in length, and six feet in the stretch of the wings, 

 and weighing about five pounds. The shoulders are 

 bluish black, the feet flesh-coloured, the bill yellow 

 with a red spot on the projecting angle of the lower 

 mandible. The quills are black, marked with white 

 bars, and have white tips. The young till the third 

 year are mottled with brown and white. It does not 



associate with the other gulls, and seldom admits 

 them near its haunts. It feeds chiefly upon fish, but 

 it also attacks ducks and other birds. It is exceed- 

 ingly ravenous, attacking all manner of garbage and 

 carrion, whether cast on shore or floating on the 

 water ; and it will often tear fish from the hooks on 

 the fishermen's lines. Its usual cry is exceedingly 

 harsh. The young may be tamed ; but they require 

 a great deal of food, which they devour so greedily as 

 to remain for a considerable time afterwards motion- 

 less, with the head almost buried in the feathers. 

 The greater number of the northern ones breed far 

 north ; but there are others which breed on the shores 

 of England, as far south as Lundy Isle in the Bristol 

 Channel. The eggs are three or four, of an olive 

 colour with spots of dark brown and purple ; they 

 are eaten, but they are not very palatable. The 

 northern people eat the young, and use the skins of 

 the old birds for clothing. 



BURGOMASTER GULL (L. glaucus). This also is a 

 large species, though smaller than the former. It is 

 about twenty-eight inches long, more than five feet in 

 the stretch of the wings, and weighs about four pounds 

 and a half. In summer the back, shoulders, and 

 coverts of the wings, are bluish ash ; and the quills 

 have white shafts and tips. The bill, which is very 

 long and strong, is of a fine yellow, with a scarlet 

 spot on the angle. The irides are yellow, and the 

 naked margin of the eye is red. In winter the head 

 is mottled with brown ; and the young birds are mot- 

 tled with light brown and white. All the parts of 

 the plumage, except those which have been men- 

 tioned, are pure white. This is a very voracious bird, 

 common in the northern seas, but rare in temperate 

 latitudes. It sometimes visits Holland, and occasion- 

 ally, but rarely, the British islands. It is described 

 as a rock breeder, and the eggs are said to be green- 

 ish with black spots. It is in winter only that the 

 burgomaster comes southward. 



THE COMMON GULL (L. canus). This is the 

 " wild sea-mew " of the British shores ; and though it 

 is not so landward as some of the others, it is found on 

 most parts of our shores. It is about seventeen inches 

 long, and thirty-six in the stretch of the wings, weighing 

 about a pound. In the mature bird the back and 

 scapulars are clear bluish grey, the primary quills 

 black, and the secondaries grey, both with white spots 

 on the tips. The young are subject to considerable 

 changes of plumage in their successive years, and 

 have been described as different species. The com- 

 mon gull is not a rock breeder, that is, it does not 

 breed on the high cliffs, neither does it retire to the 

 inland marshes, it breeds in concealed places along 

 the shores. The eggs of the common gull are two in 

 number, nearly the same size as those of a hen, but of 

 an olive brown colour, marked with dark reddish 

 blotches. 



Common gulls are more completely scavengers of 

 the sea than any others of the race which frequent 

 the British shores. They do not refuse fish where 

 such come in their way ;" but they watch more for the 

 offal both of the land and of the sea. Near the estua- 

 ries of large rivers, especially that part of them where 

 the water of the estuary meets the tide, and the ani- 

 mal remains produced by both are accumulated, 

 thev are found in greater numbers than almost any- 

 where else. They, however, distribute themselves 

 generally along the beaches where there is an alter- 

 nate covering and uncovering of the bottom to some 



