THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THIRD SERIES. 



Vol. VI.] JULY, 1882. 



[No. 67. 



ON AN INLAND BEEEDING HAUNT OF LARUS CANUS. 



By Robert Warren. 



On the 17th May, accompanied by my friends Dr. S. Darling 

 and his brother, Mr. James Darling, of Ballina, I visited a 

 breeding haunt of the Common Gull, situated on some small 

 loughs about ten miles from the sea, the same distance from 

 Ballina, and about three miles from the little town of Crossmolina, 

 Co. Mayo. Driving to Glenmore, we put up the horse, and 

 employed a boy to guide us to the loughs. In about half an 

 hour's smart walking we reached a wide expanse of fiat wet moor, 

 having many little loughs in the low-lying parts of it, and in 

 these loughs islands or clumps of turf covered with heath or 

 coarse grass. 



On reaching the first of the loughs we observed a Gull resting 

 on a clump in the middle, but seeing only a solitary bird, which 

 flew off at our approach, we did not suppose there was a nest 

 there. Dr. Darling and I went on ahead; James Darling 

 remaining to take another look round, and wading out to the 

 clump of turf found a nest of dried grass on it, containing three 

 eggs. This "find" was most encouraging, for not seeing any 

 Gulls about we were beginning to fear that our journey would 

 prove in vain. We walked on to a group of loughs about a 

 quarter of a mile farther on, and there we saw two Gulls resting 

 on clumps, and in a few minutes we had three pairs of the 

 Common Gull circling around us, plainly showing .by their 



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