THE BONAPARTIAN GULL. 317 



of February 1849, Mr. F. Rankin wounded a gull there very 

 much smaller than the L. ridUmndus, and had it running about 

 his garden for some days, when it disappeared, he knew not how. 

 On seeing the preserved specimen of the adult little gull in winter 

 plumage in the Belfast Museum, he at once pronounced it to be 

 of the same species. 



In November 1848, another little gull in adult plumage was 

 shot in Belfast Bay, but unfortunately was lost as a specimen. 



Two instances of this bird's occurrence in Scotland (Jardine), 

 and several of its having been procured on various parts of the 

 coast of England, are on record."^ It appears to have been 

 occasionally met with in most of the countries of Europe, but 

 properly belongs to the more eastern portion of the continent. 

 Dr. Hichardson mentions one instance of its having been obtained 

 in North America. 



THE BONAPARTIAN GULL. 



Lams Bonapartii, Rich, and Swains. 



Has been once procured, 



Under the circumstances which have been fully detailed in the 

 'Annals of Natural History ' for 1848 (vol. i. p. 192, new series). 

 They are as follows : — " A specimen of this beautiful little gull — 

 the first known to have visited Europe — was killed at the tidal 

 portion of the river Lagan, between Ormeau Bridge and the 

 Botanic Garden, about a mile above the lowest bridge at the 

 town of Belfast, on the 1st of February, 1848. It was flying 

 singly. The person who shot the bird, attracted by its pretty 

 appearance merely, left it to be preserved with a taxidermist, who, 

 on receipt of any birds either rare or unknown to him, kindly 

 brings tliem for my inspection. I had thus fortunately an op])or- 

 tunity of examining the bird previous to its being skinned, when 



* Mr. Macgillivray incorrectly mentions the individuals procui'ed in Ireland as 

 having been " immatiu'C." — ' Man. Brit. Birds,' vol. ii. p. 242. 



