THE COMMON GULL 



The nest, composed of pieces of turf, grass, sea-weed, etc., usually contains three 

 eggs, in ground-colour greenish-brown or yellowish-brown, marked with streaks 

 and spots of blackish-brown and purplish-grey. 



According to Macgillivray, "When feeding along with Rooks in pasture 

 ground, they are often found to be less wary than these birds, especially in places 

 where they are not much liable to be molested. They never, I think, molest any 

 other bird, nor are they at all addicted to quarrelling among themselves. Their 

 food consists of small fishes, such as sand-eels and young herrings, which they pick 

 from the water, first hovering with extended and elevated wings, then descending, 

 spreading their tail, and letting down their feet, with which I have often seen them 

 pat the water as if they were running on land. They never plunge so as to be 

 immersed, but merely seize on what comes close to the surface. They also feed 

 upon stranded fishes of large size, asteriae, mollusca, shrimps, and other small 

 Crustacea. Sometimes also they pick up grain in the fields, and in a state of 

 domestication may be partly fed on bread." 



In winter the head and neck are streaked with dusky brown. 



THE HERRING-GULL. 



Larus argentatus, J. F. Gmelin. 

 Plate 73. 



Abundant on all our coasts and estuaries throughout the year and often seen 

 inland, this species appears to be more numerous than any other of our larger Gulls. 

 It breeds in Northern Europe, where it ranges as far east as the White Sea, and 

 also in Arctic America. In winter it migrates southwards to the Mediterranean, 

 and in the New World to South America. 



The Herring-Gull usually breeds on the steep faces of rocky cliffs or on islands, 

 and makes its nest of grass and similar material. The three eggs vary very much in 

 colour and markings, often they are greenish-brown, spotted and blotched with dark 

 brown and purplish-grey, or the ground-colour may be light bluish-green, reddish, 

 or yellowish-grey. 



This bird is almost omnivorous, it pursues the shoals of fish, from which it 

 takes its toll, haunts the shores at low-water in search of crabs and other crustaceans, 

 follows in the wake of vessels in order to obtain scraps of food, or robs other species 

 of their eggs. In fishing villages it becomes very tame, and may often be seen 

 perched on chimneys and housetops. 



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