440 



in the same locality, greedily tearing at a carcase of a 

 cat washed ashore. The bird allowed me to advance to 

 within thirty yards of it, and did not move until it saw 

 me peering suspiciously at it through my binoculars. It 

 then walked sedately a few paces from its feast, just as 

 a Great Black-backed Gull would do, and slowly flapped 

 out to sea. Another occasion on which I met a Glau- 

 cous Gull that admitted near approach was on December 

 30th, 1897, in Dingle Harbour, when one flew past me 

 on the wing only some twenty yards away. 



Flight. This bird can readily be distinguished on the 

 wing from the large indigenous Gulls, if sufficiently near for 

 the absence of black on the primaries to be noticed. From 

 the Iceland Gull, which it closely resembles, it may be dis- 

 tinguished by its larger size, shorter wings, and heavier 

 flight. A Glaucous Gull, flying, looks almost as large as 

 a Great Black-backed Gull; an Iceland Gull is more the 

 size of a Herring-Gull. 



Voice. The voice is hoarse, the note produced being a 

 loud cackle. 



Food. This and the Great Black-backed Gull feed much 

 after the same fashion, both greedily devouring stranded 

 carcases. I have observed this habit on the Dublin coast. 

 Cox refers to one seen in the last-named district, which 

 resorted for food to a carcase for a week or ten days. 

 The bird is omnivorous, and when immature is known to 

 eat, among other things, the berries of Empetrum nigrum, 

 in South Greenland (Saunders). 



Nest. The Glaucous Gull builds not only on precipitous 

 cliffs, but also on low-lying rocks and on sand-banks. The 

 eggs, generally laid in June, are stone-colour, spotted with 

 light grey and brown. 



Geographical distribution. This bird has a remarkably 

 wide geographical distribution ; in its breeding range in 

 summer it is circumpolar. According to Mr. Saunders it is 

 common and resident in Iceland. 1 



The winter migration extends to Southern Europe, 

 including the Mediterranean basin, Black and Caspian Seas; 

 eastward over the sea-board of the Asiatic Continent to 

 Japan, and westward along the American coasts to Cali- 

 fornia on the Pacific side, and the Bermudas on the 

 Atlantic side. 



1 Mr. F. Coburn states that he only met three individuals in North 

 Iceland in the summer of 1889 (' Zoologist,' 1901, p. 415). 



