OTHER GULLS AND TERNS 



(LARIN&) (STERNIN&) 



THE Black-headed Gull is par excellence the Gull of 

 London and the Thames between bridges, but various 

 other species of Gulls, and even Terns, casually visit the 

 Metropolis, and require brief notice in a separate chapter. 

 To the majority of observers the Gulls that visit London 

 are all alike they are " Seagulls," and that is quite 

 sufficient for the ordinary " man in the street." There 

 are, however, four other species of Gulls that pay casual 

 visits to the Metropolis. I have on many occasions 

 noticed Common Gulls (Larus canus) and Kittiwakes 

 (Rissa tridactylus) among the crowds of Black-headed 

 Gulls on the Thames. The latter, however, is, strictly 

 speaking, an oceanic species, and seldom visits inland 

 localities save in stormy weather. In the course of the 

 present chapter I will mention how these two Gulls may 

 be distinguished from the Black-headed Gull and from 

 each other. The Kittiwake, amongst other places, has 

 been observed at Lambeth, Battersea, and Putney, and I 

 have personal records from Waterloo and Westminster 

 Bridges. The next two species belong to the large type 

 of Gulls that frequent the British Islands. Of these the 

 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is a casual visitor to the 

 Thames within the Metropolitan area, and frequently 

 resorts to the fields, sewage-farms, and other open spots 

 at some considerable distance from the river, or, indeed, 

 from water of any kind. The second of these large 

 species is the Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), 

 which also casually visits London and its environs every 

 winter. I have records of this Gull from Barnes, from 

 Kingsbury, the Welsh Harp, and from rural districts as 

 remote from the Thames as Harlesden and the meadows 

 between Sudbury and Uxbridge. I believe it is a tolerably 



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