IYORT GULL. 83 



one of them I saw myself. During my absence from home, 

 two of them for a few days in succession alighted in my yard; 

 my servant thought they were tame birds, and did not 

 frighten them. However, one was shot on the third day, and 

 when I came home I found it to be an Ivory Gull in rather 

 immature plumage: the other bird they said was pure white: 

 though frequently seen since, I was not able to procure 

 it. I have the bird that was shot now in my collection.' 



In Shetland one of these birds was obtained on the 13th. 

 of December, 1822, at Balta Sound, by Laurence Edmonston, 

 Esq. 



In Orkney one in 1832; a second was shot in the Bay 

 of Firth, by Mr. Strang, during the winter of the same year; 

 a third subsequently. 



These birds are generally seen out at sea, often in company 

 with the Fulmar, except of course during the breeding seasons. 



Some migrate southwards at the advance of winter. 



'Parties numbering from thirty to fifty associate together 

 on the open sea.' 



Their flight is easy and graceful. 



The Snow Bird, according to Captain, now the Rev. Dr. 

 Scoresby, in his -account of the Arctic Regions, rarely alights 

 on the water, but often sits on the ice, preferring the most 

 elevated situations. 



They are ravenous in their habits, and eat all that comes 

 in their way in the shape of food; any thing and every thing 

 that presents itself in this form is a 'bonne bouche' to the 

 maw of the Gull. 



The note is harsh and strong. 



This Gull builds on cliffs and rocky shores in the extreme 

 north; and the nest is said to be a layer of sea-weed. 



The eggs are reported to be two or three in number; they 

 are of a cream-white colour, spotted with grey, reddish brown, 

 and brownish black. 



The spotless purity of the plumage of this beautiful bird 

 rivals the whiteness of the enduring snows of the northern 

 lands to which it belongs, the whole being, however suffused 

 with a rosy tinge. 



Male; length, one foot five inches and a half to one foot 

 eight inches; bill, pale yellow, at the tip darker, greenish 

 grey towards the base; iris, brown, the eyelids red at the edge. 

 Head, crown, neck, nape, chin, throat, breast, and back, pure 

 white. The wings, which are longer than the tail, reach to 



