405 



Family 

 Sub-Family LABIISL^E. 



SA BINE'S GULL. Xema sabinii (J. Sabine). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 

 67 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. viii, p. 593 ; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vi, pi. 14. 



Sabine's Gull is a scarce and an irregular visitor to the 

 British Isles. An immature bird, shot in Belfast Bay in 

 September, 1822, and identified by Thompson (Nat. Hist. 

 Irel., vol. iii.), appears to be the earliest recorded British- 

 taken specimen. 



Subsequently some ten more examples have been ob- 

 tained in Ireland ; on every occasion in immature plumage. 



Seven birds have been recorded from Dublin Bay between 

 the years 1834 and 1884 ; three from Belfast Lough between 

 the years 1822 and 1867 ; and one from Donegal Bay, 

 taken on September 19th, 1878 (Ussher, ' Birds of Ireland '). 

 It is very probable that this species has been overlooked in 

 many other localities along the Irish coast. 



In England it has been recorded from the following 

 counties : T Yorkshire,* Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Middlesex, 

 Kent,* Sussex, Hants,* Dorset, Devon, Cornwall,* Somerset, 

 Shropshire and Cumberland. 



In Wales, Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire have yielded 

 specimens. 



1 Adult birds, much scarcer in our Isles than those in immature dress, 

 have been obtained from those counties marked with an asterisk (*). 

 Recently in the autumn of 1903 three adult birds were obtained from 

 the coast of Yorkshire as follows : One, full winter-plumage, September 

 1st ; another, full nuptial plumage (female), September 3rd ; both speci- 

 mens taken at Bridlington (Julian Tuck, ' Zoologist,' 1903, pp. 353, 

 394). A third, full winter-plumage (female), September 5th ; obtained 

 a little south of Scarborough (W. J. Clarke, loc. cit., ibid.). 



