THE BIRDS 291 



the Glaucous Gull (L. glaucus), and the Iceland Gull (L. leucopterus) 

 are winter visitors. 



The Herring Gull, one of the commonest species on our coast, 

 is a handsome bird. The summer plumage is white, save for the 

 blue-grey mantle and black primaries, the latter having white 

 tips and " mirrors," or round white marks ; in winter the head 

 becomes streaked with brown. Young gulls are mottled brown 

 and white, and are much less conspicuous when at rest than the 

 adult birds. Although they are accused of stealing the eggs of 

 other birds, Herring Gulls chiefly feed on fish, varied by refuse 

 thrown from ships, or any small marine creature thrown up by 

 the tide. Flocks of gulls will often follow the herring shoals, and 

 by the noise and commotion they make warn the fishermen of 

 the approach of the shoals. The Black-headed Gull (L. ridibundus) 

 is fond of nesting on marshlands. In its summer dress the head 

 and upper part of the neck are dark brown and the beak a deep 

 bright red, but in the winter the bird loses its characteristic hood. 

 In the winter flocks of Black-headed Gulls ascend the rivers, and 

 in the spring they are often seen following the plough in company 

 with rooks and starlings, feeding upon the grubs turned up with 

 the soil. The Laughing Gull (L. atricilla) of America is a member 

 of the same group of gulls. It is a larger bird, and is distinguished 

 by having the outer primaries black, just tipped with white. The 

 largest of the Hooded Gulls (L. ichthyaetus) ranges from the Black 

 Sea and the Levant to Tibet, and passes the winter in Southern 

 Asia. The male bird is often twenty-seven inches long, and in the 

 nesting season he wears a jet-black hood and his bill is a bright 

 orange-red. 



The Great Black-backed Gull, one of the largest species, is 

 not common on our shores, but breeds on the Scottish coast. It 

 is less sociable in its habits than most of its tribe, and is a very 

 fierce and thievish bird. It will steal the eggs and young of other 

 birds, devour rats, mice, fish, or small birds indiscriminately, and 

 even attack and kill weakly lambs. The Lesser Black-backed Gull 

 is a less aggressive bird, and more social in its ways. It nests in 

 company with other sea-birds on many places round our coasts. 



The Kittiwake, the smallest and prettiest of British-resident 

 gulls, is a dainty bird, with snow-white plumage and a mantle of 

 silver-grey. It has gained its common name from its curious 



