LARUS. 255 



General Distribution. The Lesser Black-backed Gull 

 breeds in Scandinavia, eastwards through Russia to the 

 Dwina, where, as on the shores of the Baltic, it is rare. 

 In winter it appears to cross eastern Europe to the Black, 

 Caspian, and eastern Mediterranean seas, Egypt, Nubia, the 

 Red sea, and ranges eastwards to the head of the Persian 

 Gulf. It has occurred on the Canary Islands. In the Gulf 

 of Aden it is said to be resident. East of the Dwina it is 

 represented by a larger form, the breeding-range of which 

 extends to the Yenesei and perhaps to the Lena, while in 

 winter it is found on the coasts of Somaliland, Arabia, 

 Mekran, and western India. 



Larus fuscus affinis. BRITISH LESSER BLACK- 

 BACKED GULL. 



Icarus affinis Reinhardt, Vidensk. Meddel. Kjobenhavn 



for 1853, 1854, p. 78 : Greenland. 

 Larus fuscus Linn. Saunders, Cat. Birds B. M. xxv. 1896, p. 250 



(part.) ; id. Manual, 2nd ed. 1899, p. 675 (part.). 

 Larus fuscus britannicus Lowe, ' British Birch,' vi. 1912, p. 2. 



Affinis= allied or near akin. 



Distribution in the British Islands. A Resident and a Bird 

 of Passage in spring and autumn. It breeds locally both 

 inland and on the coasts and islands of the south of England 

 and Wales, the Isle of Man, Cumberland, Northumberland, 

 -and the Fame Islands ; commonly in Scotland and on the 

 islands to the north and west ; less plentifully in Ireland. 

 In autumn it is generally distributed on the coasts, but is 

 much less numerous in winter, especially in Scotland, when 

 the majority move southwards. 



General Distribution. The British Lesser Black-backed 

 Gull breeds in the Faeroes, the Channel Islands, western 

 -coasts of France and probably Spain, and on Alboran Island, 

 off the coast of Morocco. It winters in the western Mediter- 

 ranean, west Africa to the Gold Coast, the Madeira Group, 

 the Canary Islands, and the Azores. It is accidental in 

 Greenland, where the type specimen was obtained. 



