9° British Birds, with their Nests and Eggs. 



Family— LARID&. Subfamily— LARIN&. 



Great Black-Backed Gull. 



Larus marinus, Linn. 



THE Great Black-backed Gull is among the largest of the Larida, and of our 

 marine birds it is far and away the grandest. It is found as a breeding 

 bird across Northern Europe, from within the Arctic Circle and Iceland as far as 

 the 55th meridian, and down as low as the 50th parallel of N. latitude. In winter it 

 migrates from its northernmost homes southward to the Canaries ; but remaining 

 resident throughout the year in those less inclemently situated. In the western 

 hemisphere it breeds in Greenland, Labrador, and the Atlantic coast of North 

 America, and also on some of the Great Lakes. In winter it migrates thence from 

 its more arctic nesting haunts southward to Florida. 



It is resident on most of the coasts of the British Isles during the autumn 

 and winter, and it breeds in large or small colonies in a few rather widely separated 

 localities in England ; more numerously in Scotland, and in perhaps half a score 

 of sites in Ireland. 



In England, it nests on Lundy Island ; on the Scilly Isles ; on the shores of 

 Dorset and Cornwall, and on the Welsh and Cumberland coasts, as well as in 

 Eurness. No breeding place on the east coast is known. 



In Scotland, the islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides, and the Orkney 

 and Shetland archipelagoes afford endless sites for its colonies free from disturbance 

 and exactly to its liking; the rocky islets of Loch Skeanaskaig and the boggy 

 moors adjoining (Booth) ; and on Duncansby Head in Caithness. On the east 

 coast, almost nowhere is it known to nest. 



In Ireland, Arranmore off the coast of Galway ; the Magharie Islands off 

 the shores of Kerry ; Belfast Lough and the Bills of A chill, are among the 

 better known breeding haunts of this species. 



The Great Black-backed Gull is a larger edition of the Lesser Black-back ; 

 and as in that species, the female is smaller than the male, and has a less powerful 

 beak. In plumage the two sexes are exactly alike at the same age and in the 

 corresponding seasons. In its full summer dress it is really a splendid bird. The 

 whole of the body pure white, with the exception of the back and wings, which, 



