426 



6 



I was sitting : it retired to a certain distance to give full force to its attack, and then made a 

 stoop at my head, coming within two or three yards of me ; this it continued to do incessantly 

 till I left it. Mr. Darling, the keeper of the lighthouse on the island, informs me that an old 

 woman, who was in the habit of gathering their eggs, had her bonnet almost torn to pieces, it 

 being perforated through by their bills.'" 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull is, as will be seen above, found during the breeding-season in 

 the north of Europe ; and we do not at present know of any authentic instance of its having been 

 found breeding further south than the English Channel. MM. Degland and Gerbe certainly 

 state that it breeds in the southern provinces of France ; but we think that this is open to doubt. 

 The nest, which is tolerably large and bulky, is constructed of grasses or other herbage ; and, 

 according to Mr. Robert Gray, who has repeatedly visited their breeding-haunts in Scotland, 

 " the nests there are almost invariably placed in thick bushes of heather, although an occasional 

 one is found in a tuft of rushes or coarse herbage ; the structure is somewhat bulky, and is 

 formed of grass and mosses." The eggs vary greatly both in colour and in shape. In ground- 

 colour they vary from light greenish blue to light olive-brown, a medium tint being most usual ; 

 the underlying markings are violet-grey, and the shell-spots dark brown, often forming a ring 

 round the larger end. The normal shape is oval ; but they are sometimes as pointed as a 

 Whimbrei's egg, and one egg Mr. Benzon possesses is pointed at both ends. Mr. Benzon writes 

 to us that they vary in size from 63 by 45 to 73 by 55 millimetres. 



The specimens figured and described are in Dresser's collection, excepting the young female, 

 which has been kindly lent to us by Mr. W. T. Blanford. 



In the preparation of the above article we have examined the following specimens : — 



E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 



a, s, b, $. Oland, Sweden, May 29th, 1869. c. Norway (Collett). d. St. Petersburg (Dode). e. Gibraltar, 

 April 19th, 1872 (L. H. Irby). f,juv. Pagham, Sussex (R. B. S.). 



E Mus. Howard Saunders. 



a, cj ad. Orkneys, May (Dunn). b,juv. Belgian coast, c, 6 ■ Valencia, Spain, March 14th. d, 6 ■ Malaga, 

 April 20th. e,juv. Malaga, January 30th. /, d . Tangiers, December, g, 2- Egypt (G. E. Shelley). 



E Mus. J. H. Gurney,jun. 



a, 2- Bamborough, April 24th, 1866 (J. H. G.). b,juv. Greatham, July 11th, 1868. c,juv. Ailsa Craig, 

 October 5th, 1867. 



E Mus. Lord Lilford. 



a,b, d,c,d, 2 ■ Gibraltar, March 1870 (L. H. Irby). 



E Mus. H. B. Tristram. 



a. Tiberias, Palestine, April 28th, 1864 [H. B. T.) . b, 6 . Boula, Nile, March 15th, 1858 {H. B. T.) . c, 2 juv. 

 Beirut, November 20th, 1863 (H. B. T.). d,juv. Pegwell Bay, 1866 (J. H. Gurney , jun.) . 



E Mus. Ind. Calc. 

 a, 2. Baluchistan, January 11th, 1872 (W. T. Blanford). 



