66 
ALLEN'S naturalist’s LIBRARY. 
Range outside the British Islands. — Northern Europe, from the 
Lower Petchora westward to Iceland, and down to about 
50“ N. (breeding) ; in winter to the Canaries, and along the 
Mediterranean (rarely) to the Egyptian coast ; also on inland 
waters. Greenland, and also the east coast and the Great 
Lakes of North America to Labrador (breeding) ; in winter to 
Florida, and accidentally in Bermuda {H. Saunders). 
Habits. — This i.s one of the largest and most powerful of all 
the British Gulls, and is a great robber, for besides its ordinary 
food of fish, it devours eggs and young bird.s, and will attack 
any sickly or wounded bird or even a sheep. It may, indeed, 
be said to be practically omnivorous, and will even eat carrion. 
It is less gregarious than the other Gulls, and is seldom seen 
even in small companies, while in winter it is generally solitary. 
It is a very wary bird, and I have only managed to capture 
individuals by baiting a long line at night-time and leaving 
it on the mud-flats. In this way I caught several at Pagham 
Harbour years ago, both old and young birds. “The notes,” says 
Seebohm, “ are loud and harsh ; almost as harsh and almost as 
unmusical as those of the Raven. Its alarm note might be repre- 
sented by the syllable Kyaouk, and its call-notes as ag aii-ag. In 
winter these birds often congregate where fishing is going on.” 
Nest. — Placed on rocks, or on an islet at some distance from 
the sea. The nest is a carelessly-made structure, a depression 
in the ground being lined with grass or sea-weed, rvith an 
occasional twig or two. 
Eggs. — Two or three in number, of large size. Ground- 
colour cl.ay-brown, inclining to stone-colour, with scattered 
spots of dark reddish-brown or black, with underlying grey 
spots and blotches. The dark overlying spots have not much 
tendency to coalesce, and are, in some instances, very scattered 
and of a pale ochre-brown colour. A pair in the Seebohm 
collection in the British Museum are bluish-white, with hardly 
a spot on them ; they were obtained in South-west Sweden. 
Axis, 275-3-I5 inches; diam., 2-i-2’2. 
vn. THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. LARUS FUSCUS. 
Larus fiiscus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 225 (1766); Macgill. Brit. 
V- P- 538 (1852); Dresser, B. Eur. viii. p. 421, pi. 603 
