COMMON GULL. 



GA VIM. 



613 



LARTD^fi. 



LARUS CANUS, Linnaeus.* 



THE COMMON GULL. 



Larus canus. 



THE COMMON GULL, as this species has long been termed, 

 is only doubtfully entitled to its trivial name, and few 

 epithets have caused wider error with regard to its distribu- 

 tion during the breeding-season. In England it is certainly 

 ' common ' on the coasts, from autumn to spring, and it is 

 frequently to be observed many miles inland, following the 

 plough in search of insects and grubs ; but with the approach 

 of April, the productive birds take their departure northwards, 

 and only a few immature or barren birds remain. During 

 the summer the ' common ' species are either the Herring 

 Gull or the Kittiwake ; and, without making any dogmatic 

 assertions, the Editor can safely say that during the past 



* Sjst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 224 (1766). 



