BIRDS OF THE OCEAN AND SEASHORE 
287 
Nest .—A hollowed, cone-shaped structure, composed of earth and 
excreta. 
Egg. —White. Breeding-season: September to January. 
29. Pacific Gull Gabianus pacificus Latham 
Gab-i-a-nus —N.L., gabianus, gull: pacificus —of the Pacific Ocean. 
Distribution .—Tasmania and southern Australia, from Shark Bay 
(Western Australia) to Rockhampton (Queensland). 
Notes .—Usually singly or in pairs, frequenting chiefly the seas of 
South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania, and the larger islands of Bass 
Strait, being rather rare in Western Australia, New South Wales, and 
Queensland. It is a true scavenger and also a notorious egg robber. Most 
of its food is procured from the surface of the water, and consists of fish 
and marine animals, also galley-refuse from ships. Breeds on islands in 
Bass Strait and headlands of Tasmania. Immature birds are brown, the 
feathers being mottled with pale edges. 
Nest .—A depression in the ground, neatly lined with grass or other 
herbage; generally situated in the shelter of a tussock of grass or a low 
bush. 
Eggs— One to three, varying from pale olive or grey to pale olive- 
brown, blotched all over with reddish-brown and lavender markings. 
Breeding-season: September to January. 
