COMMON GULL 423 



is not by any means refused, while worms and grubs are 

 obtained in the fields. In captivit} T the bird will eat practi- 

 cally anything. 



Voice. The voice is much less wailing than that of most 

 other Gulls. The note is short, sharp, one-syllabled, and 

 sounds like yak-yak, or yak-kak. 



Nest. The Common Gull is gregarious in the nesting- 

 season, and some colonies are composed of considerable 

 numbers. 1 In many localities the nests are placed apart 

 from those of other sea-fowl. 



In July, 1898, I found three nests on a small island in 

 a fresh-water lake near Castlebar, co. Mayo. The materials 

 used for building were for the most part withered grasses, 

 and the nests were rather conspicuous, being situated among 

 the tops of bare rocks. Sometimes the birds build among 

 loose stones along the fringe of islands, or amid heather or 

 grass on the slopes of sea-cliffs. In maritime situations 

 seaweed is often added as a building constituent. 



The eggs, normally three to the clutch, vary in ground- 

 colour from greenish-brown to light straw, some being of 

 a rather pale bluish shade ; they are blotched and streaked 

 with brownish-black. 



Incubation begins about the month of May. In certain 

 districts the eggs are collected for culinary purposes. 



Along the coast and lochs of the northern section of 

 Scotland (including the Western Island-Groups, the Orkneys, 

 and Shetlands), this Gull nests in no small numbers. 



In Ireland, the breeding - haunts seem limited to 

 the counties of Sligo (where Mr. Warren found the bird 

 nesting in 1855), Mayo, Gal way, Donegal, and Kerry. In 

 addition, there are marine settlements on a few islands off 

 the west coast. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, the Common Gull 

 is plentifully distributed in the breeding-season in Northern 

 and Central Kussia, Scandinavia, and other parts of Europe, 

 but is rare in Iceland. In autumn and winter it migrates 

 over the European Continent, crossing the Mediterranean 

 to North Africa, and eastward to the Temperate regions of 

 Western Asia. 



1 Mr. Ussher mentions a maritime breeding-haunt, numbering about 

 a hundred nests, on the north coast of Donegal. Among the breeding- 

 resorts which I have had occasion to visit, that on the Blasket Island 

 is particularly interesting owing to its isolated position, and from the 

 fact that it is the most southern in Europe. 



