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the end of May to deposit their eggs. Never was there a greater mistake. A few days later and 

 the thousands have become hundreds ; yet a few days more and these will have dwindled down to 

 tens ; so that by the middle of May it is possible that not a pair will remain behind. Doubtless 

 they continue their northward journey along this coast of the Black Sea; but it is in the marshes 

 and lakes of Central Russia, in the great plains of the Volga, and possibly also in those of the 

 Bug, the Dnieper, and the Don, that oologists must look for eggs of Larus minutus." 



Professor Liljeborg (Naumannia, 1852, p. 110) has published the accompanying notes on the 

 present species in Northern Russia : — 



" Very common at Novaja Ladoga on the 7th of June, breeding on small floating islands in 

 a morass. There is a visible difference in the size of the sexes, the male being larger and more 

 rosy-coloured on the breast. The eggs, generally three, were only surrounded with a few dry 

 straws. They much resemble those of Larus ridihmclus, but are smaller, and vary in size, 

 colour, and shape. Several hundreds of these Gulls were in the vicinity of the above-named 

 island, and tried, when I approached it, to coax me away by flying off all at once on a signal, a 

 querulous cry from one of the flock. As they perceived that this had no effect, they soon returned 

 and were very bold. It is curious that most of those which we found near the breeding-places 

 were males ; at another place, at some distance, only females were observed. In their stomachs 

 I found insects (Neuroptera). These they often caught in the air, making graceful and quick 

 evolutions, in which they almost surpass the Goatsuckers. In their habits they most resemble 

 the Black-headed Gull. Later I saw them near Archangel, where only a few were observed. 

 This is probably their northern limit. The Russians call them ' ScJieik,' a general appellation 

 used by them for all Gulls." 



We are indebted to our friend Mr. W. Meves for the following most interesting account of 

 the Little Gull, which he has forwarded expressly for the present work : — 



" On my journey on the canal between Schlusselburg and Novaja Ladoga I heard, on the 

 morning of the 31st of May, at three o'clock, at a place about sixty versts from Schlusselburg, a 

 loud cry from small Gulls which frequented the neighbouring swamps. I wished to land imme- 

 diately, but ascertained that these ' Scheiks ' were much more numerous about twenty versts 

 further on. I left the vessel at the village of Dubno, and soon visited the breediug-places. It 

 was not without difficulty that these were reached, as they were in large marshy lakes with 

 muddy bottoms, and on almost floating islands formed of plants. If one stepped on one of these 

 islands the soft ground gave way, and it was difficult to prevent sinking through. 



" The nests were placed both on the edge as also on the centre of the islands, amongst the 

 low plants, often quite close to each other, and were constructed some of a few, some of many 

 flag-leaves, scirpus, and grass-straws, some carefully, some carelessly built, and measured generally 

 from 15 to 20 cub. centims. in diameter. The usual number of eggs were three or four ; and only 

 one nest contained five, of which one was considerably less than the others. In many nests, how- 

 ever, there were only one or two eggs, as the laying-time was not over. The eggs vary considerably, 

 both in colour and form. I observed that Sterna Mrundo nested amongst the Gulls, and made 

 its nest similarly, its eggs also resembling those of the Gulls, and was therefore much afraid at 

 first that I might not be able to distinguish them from each other ; but I fortunately observed, on 

 blowing an egg that I took out of a Gull that I shot on the first day, that the yelk was of a rich 



