378 • LAEID^. 



tioD, we are told that this bird is by no means rare about Cork 

 Harbour^'^ and that it may be considered the most common of 

 the larger gulls frequenting the harbour of Wexford^ where it is 

 not " very wary, generally flying over or near boats that lie in its 

 course/'t I have never myself visited a range of coast on any 

 side of the island, without this bird coming under view. 



l\Ir. R. ]3all has remarked to rae that — " immature specimens of 

 L. manmis, or at least supposed to be so, are very often considerably 

 taller, and have larger bills than the adults. Is there a second species, 

 or is there a real decrease in bulk ?" Two specimens in the Uni- 

 versity Museum, Dublin, examined by that gentleman and myself, ex- 

 hibit this difference in a very marked manner in the tarsi ; those of the 

 young being two inches ten lines ; of the old two inches five and 

 a half lines in length. The wing of the young from the carpus to end 

 of longest quill is twenty inches, of the adult eighteen and three-quar- 

 ters ; the middle toe and nail of the former are two inches ten lines ; of 

 the latter two inches nine and a half lines. In different species of gulls 

 I have remarked young birds of the year as having larger tarsi and 

 bills than the old, but did not ascertain whether such large young were 

 invariably of one sex, and such small old invariably of another ; — this 

 should be looked to. Three immature individuals of the greater black- 

 backed gull shot at the end of December (1833 and 1837) and the 

 dimensions of which I noted were 



Length (total) of a female bird . 



„ of biU from rictus to point 



„ of wing from cai'pus to end of first quill 



„ of tarsus ..... 



„ of middle toe and nail . 

 Breadth across wings .... 



Irides white ; legs pale flesh, and bill blackish horn-colour. 



in. 



lin. 



27 



6 



3 



7i 



19 







3 







3 



3 



53 







Of the two others (sex not noted), the one was in length twenty-eight 

 inches ; wings passed the tail ; the other was twenty-nine inches in 

 length ; wings passed the tail one inch ; extent of wings five feet. 



Mr. Poole mentions a bird which he killed in Wexford Harbour on 

 the 26th of November, being in perfectly adult plumage, except the 



* Dr. Harvey. f Mr. Poole, 



