THE GLAUCOUS GULL. 765 



mollusca, Crustacea (shore-crabs, etc.), starfish, worms, insects 

 (chiefly coleoptera), and some vegetable matter (leaves, grain, etc.). 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Resident. Breeds sparsely coasts 

 of Cornwall, Scilly Isles, Lundy Isle, Wales, Lake District and 

 Clyde Area, and commonly northwards and Scottish isles both 

 sea-cliffs and inland. Does not breed in Forth nor southwards 

 on east side. In Ireland increasing, and breeds rocky coasts and 

 islands, especially west, and a few inland loughs north and west. 

 In winter more widely distributed on all coasts. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in northern Europe, from Lower 

 Petchora to Iceland and down to about 50° north (nested 1921 on 

 Bear Island). In winter to Canaries and Azores, and along Mediter- 

 ranean to Egyptian coast, Caspian and Black Seas, Greenland, east 

 coast and great lakes of North America to Labrador (breeding) ; in 

 winter (casually) to Florida, and accidentally Bermuda. 



LARUS HYPERBOREUS* 



457. Larus hyperboreus Gunn.— THE GLAUCOUS GULL. 



Larus hyperboreus Gunnerus, Leem's Beskr. Finm. Lapp., pp. 226, 

 283 (1767— Lapland). 



Larus Islandicus Edmondston, Mem. Wernerian Soc. iv. p. 185 (1822 — 

 Shetland Is.) On p. 506 described Larus glaucoides under same name. 

 Larus glaucus O. Fabricius, Yarrell, in, p. 636 ; Saunders, p. 679. 

 Larus glaucus Brunn., Hand -List (1912), p. 202. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Whole head, 

 throat and neck encroaching on to upper -mantle white, head and 

 throat lightly streaked pale brown and feathers of back of neck 

 tipped same (X.B. — Females are more heavily streaked and mottled 

 brown than males) ; mantle, scapulars and back ash-grey, lower 

 scapulars tipped white ; rump, upper tail-coverts, tail and whole 

 under -parts, including under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; 

 primaries pale ash-grey tipped white, shafts whitish-straw, outer 

 web of 2nd (outer) primary nearly white ; secondaries ash-grey, 

 tipped white ; primary-coverts and other wing-coverts ash-grey, 

 but small coverts round edge of wing white. This plumage is 

 acquired by complete moult July to Nov. or Dec, and occasionally 

 outer primaries are not fully grown even as late as Feb. Summer. — 

 The body-feathers are moulted March-April, but not wing- or tail- 

 feathers nor wing-coverts. Like winter but whole head, neck and 

 throat pure white, unstreaked. 



Nestling. — Like that of L. marinus (upper-parts rather paler 

 and greyer than in L. argentatus and centre of under-parts whiter) 

 but dark markings on upper-parts rather more obscured and paler. 



* Brunnieh's name glaucus 1764 is preoccupied by L. glaucus Pontop- 

 pidan 1763, we must therefore adopt the name of hyperboreus Gunnerus 1767. 

 — E.H. 



