THE SILVER GULL 85 



The Silver Gull. 

 Larus nova-hollandice. 

 Tasmania, Australia to New Caledonia. 



Head, neck, tail and under surface white; mantle and secondaries 

 light grey, first and second primaries black at the tip and over the 

 larger portions, third quill with white tip, followed by black bar, fourth 

 and fifth quills white to grey, with black bars, under wing-coverts grey; 

 bill crimson-lake. Total length about 15 inches, culmen 1.8, wing 11. -5 

 to 12, tail 5 to 5.5, tarsus 1.9 to 2. 



Usually breed in small colonies, but occasionally a single pair 

 by themselves. The nests are situated on some rocky headland 

 and usually among the grass. The nest is composed of grass, 

 seaweed, &e. The eggs are two or three and are greyish-green 

 to olive. The markings vary from black to yellowish-brown, the 

 underlying markings being purple. The eggs measure about 

 2.19 X 1.56 inch. 



The Silver Gull is a beautiful little bird, abundantly 

 dispersed over our sea-shores, and giving the first welcome to 

 Australia to the incoming vessels in our harbours. It also 

 frequents the rivers and inland lakes of any extent. It frequently 

 congregates in immense flocks. Its flight is light and buoyant, 

 and it runs over the sands or ad,iacent grassy flats with great 

 facility. In maritime townships, where not disturbed, the birds 

 will come about the cottages and take their share with the 

 domestic poultry; and, before protection, gulls were often 

 allowed to run free over the gardens and lawns of our city 

 houses, as they are useful in the destruction of slugs. The gulls 

 are closely protected in the different states, for they are 

 excellent scavengers. Like so many of the sea-birds, however, 

 they are astonishingly vicious to one another, and any weakly or 

 injured birds are quickly destroyed and eaten by the rest. 



At a meeting of the Linnean Society of New South "Wales 

 Mr. A. Basset Hull exhibited some extraordinary mutations in 

 the eggs, which he had obtained at the rookery at Montague 

 Island. Instead of the ordinary olive-green or olive-brown eggs 

 streaked and blotched with blackish-brown markings, some of 

 the eggs were of a beautiful uniform pale-blue with no markings 

 whatever, while others were glossy white, faintly blotched with 

 pale-red and a few dull red spots. There was in one ease a full 

 clutch of three blue eggs. Were these reversions? 



