in the air, and very seldom alight in our neighbourhood. 

 After a long flood, however, especially in January and 

 February, we often have many hundreds, sometimes 

 thousands, of this and other species of Gulls, feeding 

 ravenously upon the drowned earthworms in our 

 water-meadows ; and during March, April, and May 

 many Herring-Gulls pass from S.W. to N.E. in small 

 flocks without lingering. 



The favourite nesting-places of this species are the 

 ledges and small plateaux on the sea fronts of high 

 cliffs ; but they not infrequently take possession of flat 

 islands for breeding-purposes. The nest is usually 

 composed of coarse grass or rushes. The eggs, three 

 or four in number, are generally hatched by the middle 

 of June ; and in the latter fortnight of July numbers 

 of young Gulls may be found on the water, well able 

 to fly, but often unable to mount to the nesting-ledges, 

 and easy of capture with a boat. A Herring-Gull is 

 a useful bird in a kitchen-garden, and during open 

 weather will " keep himself " upon worms, slugs, and 

 mice, whilst almost any kitchen refuse or offal is 

 greedily devoured at all times. In a wild state the 

 Herring-Gull is, according to my experience, not so 

 much addicted to carrion as several others of its con- 

 geners, though by no means very particular in its 

 diet. I recollect to have noticed two or three Lesser 

 Black-backed Gulls greedily engaged upon a drowned 

 and putrid cat upon a certain well-known sea-strand in 

 Devon, whilst the Herring-Gulls, of which there were 

 many about the spot, seemed to take no notice of this 



