HEBRTTSTO GULL. 99 



One, of which Mr. Thomas Willmot has written me word, 

 was captured between Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 

 or about the 25th. of January, 1855. A few are seen in 

 Northamptonshire most winters. In Worcestershire, one was 

 shot towards the end of February, 1843, at Lower Wick, on 

 the banks of the River Teme, near Worcester. The species 

 is frequently observed in Oxfordshire. Parties of them oc- 

 casionally visit the River Trent, in Derbyshire, for a few days. 

 Two were believed by the Rev. Leonard Jenyns to have been 

 shot at Overcote, near Swavesey, Cambridgeshire. 



It is a common Irish species, and frequents also the coast 

 of Wales in abundance. It is extremely numerous in many 

 parts of Orkney and Shetland. 



I have received several particulars respecting this species 

 from John Dutton, Esq., 11. N. He writes 'The Herring 

 Gull is exceedingly common on the coasts of Hampshire and 

 in the Isle of Wight. They build in great numbers in 

 Scratchell's Bay, and in the cliffs under the Needles lighthouse. 

 It is a fine sight to see them from the tops of those grand 

 old cliffs, towering aloft in graceful circles, their beautiful 

 snow-white necks contrasting finely with the blue of their 

 backs. They build on the ledges of the cliffs, and frequently 

 in the beds of samphire, which grows in abundance there.' 



The Herring Gull, which is readily tamed to a certain 

 extent, so far as to follow a gardener while digging, to pick 

 up any dislodged insects, has been known to breed in con- 

 finement, namely, near Fermoy, in the county of Cork, as 

 recorded in the 'Zoologist,' page 1395; another pair at 

 Walthamstow, for three successive years; also at Quig Hall, 

 the seat of J. T. Martin, Esq., two eggs were laid, and one 

 young bird reared: one kept in a garden made a great friend 

 of a terrier dog. Montagu mentions one which thus lived in 

 confinement for thirteen years. 



Mr. Hewitson gives the following, as communicated to him 

 by the Rev. W. D. Fox: 'At Colbourne, in the Isle of Wight, 

 a Herring Gull made its escape about thirty years ago from 

 a garden where he had been kept a prisoner. From that 

 time, however, to the present, he has returned all but daily 

 to visit the place of his former captivity, though at the 

 distance of six or seven miles from .that part of the coast 

 where they resort. Here he is regularly fed, and is so tame 

 with the man who has regularly attended to his wants, that; 

 he would eat out of his hand, but will not allow any further 



