320 BRITISH BIRDS. 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull spends most of its time on the sea-shore, 

 feeding upon fish and small marine animals of all kinds. It is not so wild 

 as the other large Gulls ; and though it has a more powerful and graceful 

 flight, it is less timid, and allows itself to be approached within easy gun- 

 shot. It may sometimes be seen in small parties following the plough to 

 pick up worms and grubs, and occasionally it visits the meadows near the 

 coast. It feeds on the scattered grain in sowing-time, and frequents the 

 stubbles after harvest for a similar purpose. It often visits harbours and 

 docks, where it is very tame, flying close to the ships, and picking up all 

 kinds of refuse from the stagnant water. It often sits lightly on the 

 heaving waves, swims with ease, and even sleeps on the water. It is 

 gregarious both in summer and winter, and at the latter season large flocks 

 often congregate at the mouths of rivers or in quiet bays to fish or to rest. 

 A mudbank or a low promontory is a favourite resting-place for this 

 Gull. 



The Fame Islands have been noted for the number of kinds of sea-birds 

 which have bred upon them for more than two hundred years. Of these 

 the Lesser Black-backed Gull is by far the most numerous ; and it is rather 

 remarkable that it should have been omitted from the list of sea-fowl enu- 

 merated by Willughby and Ray as breeding upon those islands. This may 

 probably be explained as an accidental error of the printer ; for of the five 

 kinds of Gulls and Terns catalogued (Willughby and Ray, ' Ornithology/ 

 p. 18), No. 4 (which may have been the Lesser Black-backed Gull) is 

 omitted. It is scarcely correct to say that there are now numerous colonies 

 of these birds on the Fame Islands ; the whole group of islands may be 

 regarded as a huge colony of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. It is a wonderful 

 sight on approaching an island to see the green mass sprinkled all over with 

 large white-looking birds, every one standing head to wind, like an innu- 

 merable army of white weather-cocks ; and it is still more wonderful, when 

 a shot is fired, to see the flutter of white wings as every bird rises in haste, 

 and to hear the angry cries which each bird makes as soon as the exertion 

 of getting fairly launched into the air is over, and it finds breath enough to 

 scream defiance to the invader of its home. In half a minute thousands of 

 birds are flying backwards and forwards in every direction, like a living 

 snowstorm. The various cries of the birds almost exactly resemble those 

 of the Herring-Gull. The angry kyeok (which sounds at a distance, when 

 the birds are quarrelling, like ak, ok, ak) and the good-natured call-note, 

 ha, ha, ha } or an, an, an, are constantly heard. 



The nests are placed in various positions. Many of the islands are bare 

 rocks, which generally rise gradually from the sea on one side and drop 

 almost perpendicularly into it on the other ; and wherever a suitable niche 

 occurs, a large slatternly nest is placed in it, composed of dry grass and the 

 dead leaves of the various marine plants which grow on the neighbouring 



