672 COMMON GULL. 
to the North Cape, and in Northern and Central Russia. During 
the colder months it occurs on the shores, lakes and rivers of the 
rest of Europe, and on both sides of the Mediterranean basin, to 
Palestine and the Suez Canal, as well as in the Nile valley and the 
Persian Gulf. Birds which are, as a rule, larger and darker on the 
mantle than western examples, inhabit Siberia as far as Kamchatka 
in summer, and these frequent Japan and China in winter. From - 
the Pacific to Great Bear Lake, this Gull is represented in North 
America by a slightly smaller species, Z. drachyrhynchus ; but 
throughout the rest of that continent we find ZL. delawarensis, a 
rather larger bird, with a paler mantle and a doubly zoned bill. An 
immature example of Z. canus was, however, obtained in Labrador 
on August 21st 1860, and is now in the Museum at Washington. 
Grassy islands and sides of lochs, or slopes facing the sea and often 
not far above high water, are favourite resorts ; and in such this 
species usually breeds in colonies, making a somewhat large nest of 
sea-weed, grass, heather &c., and beginning to lay in the first half of 
May. The eggs, normally 3 in number, are olive-brown in ground- 
colour, spotted and streaked with blackish; but pale blue, straw- 
coloured and light green varieties are not uncommon: measure- 
ments 2°25 by 1°5 in. As a rule this Gull does not go far from 
land, and owing to its being one of the first to seek the shore on 
the approach of coarse weather it has been made the subject of 
many rhymes and poetical allusions. It feeds on small fish, 
molluscs, crustaceans &c., and may frequently be seen picking up 
grubs on the furrows in company with Rooks, while it will some- 
times eat grain, small birds, and “‘cheepers.” It has often been seen 
on the tops of trees, in Germany, Norway, Siberia, and elsewhere. 
The adult in summer has the head, tail, and entire under-parts 
white; mantle of a deeper grey than in any other medium-sized 
Gull except the Kittiwake ; primaries comparatively long, the three 
outer pairs being dull black on the lower portions, with large white 
‘mirrors’ near the tips on the rst and 2nd, and even on the 3rd in 
mature birds; in the other quills pale grey predominating and the 
black merely forming a bar, while ali except the rst quill are broadly 
tipped with white ; bill greenish at the base, rich yellow towards the 
point; legs and feet greenish-yellow in summer, darker in winter. 
Length 17-18'5 in.; wing 14-15in. In winter the head and neck 
are streaked and spotted with ash-brown, as shown in the illustra- 
tion. In the young bird the primaries and the broad tail-band are 
dark brown; the under-side of the wing is mottled with brown, 
whereas in L. vidibundus it is greyish-white. 
