328 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. 



thing that was given them. Unfortunately they both 

 picked up some poison from a manure heap and died 

 the same day. This Gull will often come far inland on 

 the appearance of stormy weather. Some time ago, 

 when the weather was very rough, one was brought to 

 me by a shepherd which he had found perched in an 

 exhausted state on some sheep hurdles : we were some 

 seventeen miles from the coast then at Queenwood. 

 The stupid man had foolishly knocked it on the head, 

 thinking I would like to have it stuffed. 



The nest is made of sea-weeds and dead grass and 

 is a rather large structure. It usually contains three 

 eggs. These are found towards the end of May, and are 

 olive or buffish brown in ground colour, spotted and 

 sometimes streaked with dark brown, and underlying 

 markings of grey. 



In breeding plumage the Common Gull has the head, 

 neck, tail, and under parts white ; the upper parts are 

 French grey ; outer quills black, tipped with white. 



LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. 



LARUS FUSCUS. 



Family LARID^;. Genus LARUS. 



Yellow-legged Gull. 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a resident bird in 

 the British Isles. It breeds locally on the coasts and 

 islands of England and Scotland, and upon the islands 

 of some of the inland lakes, such as at Ulleswater. The 

 Fame Islands are its great resort, and here it breeds 

 in many thousands. It is less shy and wild than the 

 other Gulls and can be approached much closer. It 

 feeds chiefly upon fish and marine insects ; it also may 



