Part 53

This circumpolar species is a very rare autumnal visitor to our shores. Its chief breeding-grounds are the Arctic regions of North America, whence it migrates southwards, in winter.

The adult has a slate grey back; the head and neck are very dark grey, tail and under parts white. In winter the forehead and crown are white. In their first autumn the young are ash grey on the occiput, nape, and back. The tail feathers have broad black tips. Length 13 in.; wing 10·75 in.

This species may always be recognised by the forked tail.

THE WEDGE-TAILED GULL Rhodostethia rosea, Macgillivray

This extremely scarce Arctic Gull is said to have been obtained in Yorkshire on one occasion. It may be recognised by the wedge-shaped tail.

The adult is grey on the mantle; the rest of the plumage, except for a narrow black ring round the neck, is pure white. Length 13·5 in.; wing 10·25 in.

BONAPARTE'S GULL Larus philadelphia (Ordigny)

This is a common North American species, of which some three examples have been taken in the United Kingdom.

In summer the adult has the head and neck black; mantle grey; tail and under parts white. The black on the head is lost in winter. Length 14 in.; wing 10·25 in.

This species may always be recognised by the white margins to the inner webs of the two outer primaries.

THE LITTLE GULL Larus minutus, Pallas

This species, which is the smallest of our Gulls, is an irregular autumn visitor to our shores. It breeds in Northern Russia and possibly on some of the islands of the Baltic, migrating in winter to the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

In summer the head and neck are black; mantle grey, primaries grey edged with white, rest of plumage white except the underside of the wing, which is black and forms a distinctive characteristic in the adult. Length 11 in.; wing 8·75 in.

THE BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ridibundus, Linnæus

The Black-headed Gull is an extremely abundant species throughout the United Kingdom at all times of the year. In summer it resorts to various inland marshes and bogs, where it nests in immense colonies, some of which have been in use for centuries. In autumn and winter it is found all along the coast and up tidal rivers, a great many coming to London, where they are extremely tame and show great agility in catching bread and other morsels of food thrown to them by pedestrians. The bird is practically omnivorous. When inland it follows the plough and feeds largely on worms and beetle grubs which are thus laid bare; but on the sea-shore, fish, crustacea, marine insects, and garbage are greedily devoured.

The nests are placed in a very wet and boggy place, surrounded, if possible, by water, but small ponds or tarns in marshy land are chosen in preference to large sheets of water. The nest is a large untidy heap of weeds and sticks. Four eggs, which are greenish, spotted and blotched with various shades of brown, form the usual clutch. The young hatch after about three weeks' incubation, and are covered with pale brown down mottled with black. They leave the nest when two or three days old, but for a week or ten days at least are entirely dependent on their parents for food; after that, however, though still fed by their parents, they pick up a good deal for themselves. They fly when about six weeks old. This gull is extremely noisy at all times, but when the nesting-ground is approached the babel of harsh screams is deafening. Although usually settling on the ground, this bird can perch with ease, and does so not infrequently when at its breeding haunts.

The sexes are alike, and in winter have the back pearl grey, wing feathers white with dark margins to the inner webs, head white with two indistinct dark crescents connecting the eyes and ears respectively, rest of the plumage white. Bill and legs white. In summer the head, with the exception of a narrow white circle over the eye, is dark brown. Bill and legs much darker than in summer. The young in their first plumage are mottled with pale brown, but soon become like the adult except for a black bar on the tail and pale brown wing coverts. The brown head is often only partially assumed in their first summer. Length 16 in.; wing 12 in.

THE MEDITERRANEAN BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus melanocephalus, Natterer

This southern species has only once been taken on our shores, though, as it visits the west of France not uncommonly, there is no great improbability in its occurrence here. Its true habitat is the Mediterranean basin.

It is slightly smaller than the preceding species, and the head is jet black, not brown. The beak is also stouter. In young birds the first five primaries are chiefly dark brown, whereas in our species the shafts and contiguous portion of the inner webs are white. Length 15·5 in.; wing 11·75 in.

THE GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ichthyaëtus, Pallas

This species is found in Egypt, the Levant, the Red Sea, and Persian Gulf, and only one example is known to have occurred on our shores.

The large size and black head are sufficient to distinguish this species when adult; young birds may be recognised by the clear-cut dark band across the tail and by the white margins to the outer webs of the secondaries. Length of male 26 in.; wing 19 in. The female is much smaller.

COMMON GULL Larus canus, Linnæus

This bird is by no means the commonest of our Gulls, but may nevertheless be found in fair numbers along all our coasts in winter.

It does not breed in England, and in Ireland there are comparatively few colonies; but in Scotland, on the low islets round the coast as well as on the lochs and tarns inland, it is abundant in summer as well as in winter.

It usually nests in small colonies of six or eight pairs on some low-lying islet near the coast or on a lake, but it avoids during the breeding season precipitous coasts and exposed situations. The nest is placed on the ground and composed of a few bits of grass, seaweed, and heather without any attempt at concealment. The eggs, usually three in number, are olive brown streaked and spotted with blackish; like most Gull's eggs, however, they vary considerably in colour. In food and habits it closely resembles the Black-headed Gull. Its ordinary note is a harsh cry, but during the nesting season it tries, somewhat feebly, to imitate the well-known call of the larger Gulls.

In summer the plumage, with the exception of the wings and mantle, is pure white. The mantle and most of the wing feathers are delicate bluish grey, but the three outer pairs of flight feathers are black with a white mirror towards the tip. Bill greenish with yellowish tip, legs greenish yellow. The sexes are alike, and in winter the head is flecked with brown. The young in autumn may be distinguished by the black bar on the tail and brownish wing coverts. Length about 17 in.; wing about 15 in.