THE COMMON GULL. 349 



accessible from above or below ; and when disturbed the birds 

 would soar away at such a distance as to be free and undisturbed 

 by any intruder."^ On the peninsula of the Horn, to the 

 westward of Horn Head, we on the 25th of June, 1832, shot three 

 of these gulls, which came flying up from the precipitous cliffs, 

 where they probably had their nests. They were in adult plu- 

 mage, and had brilliant yellow legs. The species is known to 

 Mr. J. Y. Stewart, as breeding there apart from other gulls, on the 

 lofty cliffs, where he has shot them on their nests ; — they select 

 places for nidification like the herring-gull. On the 1st of 

 August, 1850, about eighty old birds, and as many young of the 

 year, were seen together at one part of the rocks of the Horn.f 

 Mr. T. Nebgan informed me, in 1837, that the common gull 

 breeds in numbers on a low grassy islet off the Kerry coast, where 

 he had liimself seen their nests : this was their only breeding-place 

 known to him in that quarter, though he considered the species to 

 be common there. The locaKty was not named, but one of the 

 Magharee islands, in Tralee Bay, was perhaps meant, as it is the 

 only breeding-haunt known on the coast to Mr. E. Chute. 

 This gull is noticed by my correspondents as common on the whole 

 southern and eastern coast; but with respect to its breeding- 

 places, they are silent. 



Mr. W. M'Calla, on communicating to me a Hst of the gulls 

 frequenting Eoundstone Bay, county of Galway, and enumerating 

 five species, did not include this ; - but, on being questioned, re- 

 marked that " gulls with green legs were plentiful,'^ by which de- 

 scription this species — in winter garb — must be meant. 



A very small number only of the Lams canus on our shores in 

 autumn and winter, can be bred in Ireland : they must come 

 from more northern breeding-haunts. Eeferring to Temmiuck, 

 I was much pleased to find him remark that tliis gull, though very 

 common in winter on all the coasts of Holland and France, is in 

 summer found towards and within the arctic circle (vol. ii. p. 774'). 

 The herring-guU, on the other hand, is mentioned by this author 

 (p. 766) as remaining during the year on the coasts of Holland 

 * Dr. J. D. Marshall. t Mr. Robert Taylor. 



