The Zoologist — March, 1867. 625 



Letters on Ornithology. By Harry Blake-Knox, Esq. 



Letter V. — British Larid^j. 

 Genus Larus. Species cands. 



A Natural History of the Common Gull, being an Account of its 

 Habits, Food, Nidification, Cry, Flight, dbc. 



Habits. — The common gull is perhaps justly so called, for we meet 

 it generally at all seasons and at all times upon the sea. It is a very 

 common bird in our bay in autumn, winter and spring, though rather 

 scarce during the central summer months, at which time, generally, 

 only immature birds are to be met with. At all times it seems to prefer 

 harbours, commercial rivers, the mainland coasts, the strands, and 

 even moist meadows in the country, to the deep sea and the ocean. 

 It arrives (not counting the permanent stragglers) in autumn, from July 

 and August, in large numbers, and becomes gradually scarce from 

 March and April. I am inclined to think that it may breed in some 

 parts of our eastern coast of Ireland ; at present I know of no breeding- 

 station on this coast, though it does breed in many parts of this 

 country. During autumn it may be met occasionally, among the flocks 

 of kittiwakes, feeding on such fry as the mackerel have driven to the 

 very surface, or those which they have tilled or maimed and are 

 floating. It never makes those semi-tern-like darts to the water like 

 the kittiwake, but takes its food, I am inclined to believe, always from 

 the surface, like the blackheaded gull, by dipping the beak in the 

 water, and steadying itself over the surface by treading water, as it 

 were, with the feet : food must be very abundant on the spot, or of 

 large size, to cause it to alight. When in company with the kittiwake, 

 or, in fact, always when in pursuit of fry, the common gull appears ill 

 at ease : its actions are hurried and furtive ; it seldom rests with the 

 kittiwake, and rarely alights on rocks, but seems always intent upon 

 the one purpose, — that of restlessly scavengering the sea. In fact, a good 

 feed of floating excrement, bread, fat, garbage, or carrion, seems more 

 congenial to its taste than the pure silvery fry. At all seasons we 

 meet this gull in Kingston Harbour, either alone or in company with 

 the blackheaded, the herring, lesser blackbacked, great blackbacked, 

 and sometimes even the kittiwake gull. Their food here is chiefly 

 pieces of biscuit, bread, fat mess pork, oil, tallow, &c, thrown from 

 the Queen's ships and the other craft in harbour. So cunning are the 

 old frequenters that they know dinner-hour on board the coast-guard 



SECOND SERIES — VOL. II. ° 



