BRUCHIGAVIA JAMESOXTI. 



SIL VER <rUIJj. Gen us : Bruch i gavia. 



IN beauty of form and lightness and gracefulness of movement, either when on the wing or running 

 over the surface of the ground, the Silver Gull fairly competes with the fairy-like White Tern 

 (Gygis Candida), and like that bird it will sometimes approach to within an arm's length, hovering 

 smooth I v just out of reach, and scanning with quiet interest the expression of the stranger. 



When in pursuit of a shoal of small fish these Gulls assemble in flocks, and. hovering over 

 the surface of the water, each bird darts every few seconds among the fry with extraordinary rapidity, 

 and continues to prey upon the fish until so replete d as to be unable to fly. A pretty picture is 

 often afforded the traveller by a group of this species when floating on the water, and it is pleasant 

 to see them buoyantly rising and falling alternately upon the rolling swell of the Pacific-, the pearly 

 whiteness of their under parts contrasting with the deep blue of the ocean, and their elongated wings 

 extending beyond the tail, giving them a peculiar appearance of gracefulness and agility. 



At sea, and when the nearest land is perhaps some hundreds of miles distant, the voyager 

 will sometimes be gratified by the sudden appearance of a pair of these Gulls. Wheeling in ever 

 narrowing circles around the ship, the winged pilgrims seem to express pleasure by their short, rapid 

 cries, especially when bits of bread or such refuse is thrown overboard to them. Once their hunger 

 is satisfied the pair will often remain, flying about in the vicinity of the ship the whole day, and 

 then suddenly, as if cognisant of the existence of land in a particular direction', thev wing then- 

 flight over the sea and return no more. 



Like the preceding species, the Silver Gulls are strictly gregarious during the breeding season, 

 and nurseries inhabited by many hundreds of these aerial and ocean wanderers are to be found' among 

 the sedgy herbage of the salt marshes <>n unfrequented parts of the coast : others are situated upon 

 the small islands of Bass's Straits. 



Some slight preparation for the period of incubation is made, a few small sticks, rushes and 

 tufts of grass being leathered together in the form of a nest. Four, and sometimes five, eggs are 

 deposited in the rude structure : great differences of colour are presented, no two of any of the four 

 or five in each nest being alike: the colour of some is a dark olive-brown, in others a pale green: 

 in some instances one egg will be thickly streaked and blotched with a very dark brown, while in 

 another the markings will be but barely perceptible : a difference in shape i> also show n, some being 

 rather long and thin, and others short and thin. 



There is no outward difference in the sexes ; the young birds, however, can always be 

 recognised by their mottled brown and white plumage. 



Head, neck, under surfaces, and rump and tail, white ; wings and remaining upper surfaces 

 grey, except the primaries, which are almost white, with a black mark near the mar-gin : bill, irides, 

 legs and feet, bright red; nails, black: irides, white. 



Habitats : The southern coasts of Australia and the islands and shores of Tasmania. 



