Part 28

THE LARGE OR GLAUCOUS WHITE-WINGED GULL.

The LARGE or GLAUCOUS WHITE-WINGED GULL (Larus glaucus) is almost entirely white, with a faint blue tinge upon the back and wing-covers; the primaries are also white, and extend but little beyond the end of the tail. The bill is yellowish white, except upon the inferior angle of the lower mandible, which is reddish orange; the eyes are pale yellow, and legs and feet flesh-red. In winter the head and neck are slightly streaked with dark grey. The length of this species is about thirty inches; the wing measures nine and a half, and the tail eight inches and a half; according to Yarrell, some have been taken that measured thirty-two and thirty-three inches. The White-winged Gull is an inhabitant of the high latitudes, and was found in great numbers by our Arctic voyagers in the Polar Seas, Davis' Straits, and Baffin's Bay, breeding on precipitous rocks and ledges of cliffs. The Glaucous Gull is also common in Russia, on the shores of the Baltic, and has been found in France, Germany, Holland, and various parts of our own and the Irish coast. It visits Shetland about the middle of autumn, and departs about the end of spring. It frequents open bays, and attends fishing-boats a few miles from land, in order to feed upon any refuse that may be thrown overboard. Sometimes, if allured by carrion, it will even venture inland. This Gull is very rapacious, and when deprived of other food will fall upon small birds and eat them. Sir J. Richardson tells us it feeds upon carrion, and during Captain Ross's expedition one specimen when struck disgorged an Auk, and after death another was found in its stomach. In disposition it is shy and inactive, and exhibits little of the clamorousness observable in most other members of the genus. The Dutch have bestowed the name of "Burgomaster" upon this bird; and, according to Scoresby, it may with propriety be called the chief magistrate of the feathered tribe in the Spitzbergen regions, as none of its class dare dispute its authority, when with unhesitating superiority it descends on its prey, though in the possession of another. The "Burgomaster" is not a numerous species, and yet it is a general attendant on the whale-fishers, whenever any spoils are to be obtained. It then hovers over the scene of action, and having marked out its morsel, descends upon it, and carries it off on the wing. On its descent, the most dainty food must be relinquished, though in the grasp of the Fulmar Petrel, the Ivory Gull, or the Kittiwake. It seldom alights in the water; when it rests on the ice it selects a hummock, and fixes itself on the highest pinnacle. Sometimes it condescends to take a more humble situation, that offers any advantages for procuring food. Upon these occasions the peculiarity of its appearance is very striking. Its usual deportment is grave and imposing, exhibiting little of the vivacity or inquisitiveness of many of its tribe; it is roused to exertion chiefly by a sense of danger, or the cravings of hunger. When it flies, it extends its wings more than any other species of Gull, and its flight is remarkably buoyant; when not in quest of food it is of a reserved disposition, seldom coming within range of a fowling-piece, but keeping at a respectful distance, it utters at intervals a hoarse scream, of a sound peculiar to itself. Scoresby found the eggs (which are of a yellowish grey, spotted and blotched with brown and grey), deposited on the beach above high-water mark, in such a manner as to receive the benefit of the full rays of the sun. According to Dr. Edmondson, a single bird of this species may occasionally be met with accompanying a large flock of other Gulls, and feeding with them.

THE LESSER WHITE-WINGED GULL.

The LESSER WHITE-WINGED GULL (Larus leucopterus) has the head and neck entirely pure white; the back and wings are pale grey; the primary quills, chin, throat, breast, entire under surface, and tail of a beautiful pure white. In the male the bill is yellow, with red angle to lower mandible; the eyes are straw-colour, and the legs flesh-red. This species is twenty-two inches long; the pointed wings when closed extend two inches beyond the tail. According to Faber this Gull has grey spots on its winter plumage. The Lesser White-winged Gull (formerly confounded with L. glaucus) occupies the northern portions of the globe, and has been seen by Arctic voyagers in Davis' Straits, Baffin's Bay, and Melville Island. It is also found in Greenland, and, according to Audubon, is seen in North America from Nova Scotia to New York during the winter months. This species is less shy than the Herring Gull, it also proceeds farther up the rivers and salt-water creeks, and alights more frequently in the water or on salt meadows than that bird. A few examples have been shot in Northumberland, Yorkshire, and Ireland, as well as in the Orkney and Shetland Isles. According to Faber this is the only Gull that winters in Iceland without breeding there. "I have," he says, "travelled over most of the coast of the island, but have never found its breeding-place. A few days after the middle of September a few specimens, both old and young, make their appearance on the coast of Iceland, confining themselves to the northern parts, among the small inlets of which great numbers pass the winter. When I lived on the innermost of the small fjords on the northern coast, these birds were our daily guests. Towards the end of April their numbers decreased, and by the end of May they had nearly all disappeared from Iceland. These tame birds came on land by my winter dwelling on the northern coast, to snap up the entrails thrown away by the inhabitants, and fought for them fiercely with the Raven. I had made one so tame that it came every morning at a certain time to my door to obtain food, and then flew away again. It gave me notice of its arrival by its cry. These Gulls indicated to the seal-shooters in the fjord where they should look for seals, continually following their track in the sea, and hovering over them in flocks, with incessant cries, and while the seals hunted the sprat and the capelin towards the surface of the water, these Gulls precipitated themselves down upon the fishes, and snapped them up. In like manner they follow the track of the cod-fish in the sea, to feed upon the booty hunted up by this fish of prey. In the winter of 1821, which I passed on the southern coast, there was not a single Larus leucopterus to be seen. On the 1st of March, the shore was almost free from Sea Gulls; but as I stepped out of my room early on the 2nd of March, the air was almost filled with a species of Larus which had appeared suddenly. As I approached and looked up at them, I soon recognised my Larus leucopterus, which had arrived in great numbers during the night. The Icelanders concluded, from the sudden appearance of these Gulls, that shoals of cod-fish must have arrived on the coast. They got ready their fishing-boats and nets, and the fish had in truth arrived in such numbers that the fishing for that season commenced immediately. There, where hitherto an ornithological quiet had reigned, everything now became enlivened through the arrival of these birds, which without intermission and with incessant cries hovered over the nets. In this year, 1821, they remained on the southern coast till the middle of May, when they entirely left it, to proceed northward to their breeding-places. This Gull was my weather-guide in winter. If it swam near the shore, and there, as if anxious, moved along with its feathers puffed out, then I knew that on the following day storms and snows were to be expected. In fine weather it soared high in the air. These birds often sit by hundreds on a piece of ice, and in that way are drifted many miles."

Mr. Yarrell describes a specimen egg in the collection of Lady Cust as being two inches and a half long by one inch and three-quarters broad, of a pale greenish white colour, with numerous spots and specks of two shades of brown, with others of a blueish-grey, over the surface generally.

* * * * *

The ICE GULLS (Pagophila) are recognisable by their slender build, proportionately longer wings and tail, smaller feet, and shorter web between the toes.

THE IVORY GULL.

The IVORY GULL (Pagophila eburnea) is pure white, at times suffused with a blush of pink. The eye is yellow, and the eye-ring carmine-red; the bill over half its length from the base is blueish, towards its apex reddish yellow, and there is a ring of greenish yellow just in front of the nostrils; the feet are black. In young birds the head and neck are greyish; the feathers of the mantle, the quills of the wings, and the ends of the tail-feathers speckled with black. The length of this bird is twenty inches; breadth, forty-two inches; length of wing, thirteen inches and a half; length of tail, five inches and a half.

The Ivory Gull is an inhabitant of the Arctic Regions, and is only a rare visitor in lower latitudes. It may be regularly met with at Spitzbergen, as also in the Asiatic part of the Arctic Ocean, and in the northern parts of Greenland, but even Iceland seems too far south for its residence. In Greenland it can hardly be called scarce, seeing that during and after the autumnal storms it sometimes makes its appearance in great numbers. Audubon tells us that it visits the southern parts of Labrador and Newfoundland every winter. A few individuals have been seen on different parts of the British coasts. "Although so delicate in appearance," says Scoresby, "this Gull is almost as rare as the Fulmar Petrel, and as little nice in its food; it is, however, more cautious. It is a constant attendant on the flensing operations of the whale-fishers, when it generally seizes its portion while on the wing." Like all other birds inhabiting extreme northern latitudes, it is easily captured indeed, Holboell states that it may be tempted to come within reach of the hand with a bit of bacon tied to a string. Wherever a walrus has been killed these birds are sure to make their appearance, and so devoid of shyness are they, that by throwing them bits of blubber a man may catch as many of them as he chooses.

Numbers of these Gulls are constantly to be seen upon the carcases left by the seal-hunters, or the Polar bears, and they are always present around the holes or rifts in the ice, to which seals generally resort. As relates to the breeding of these birds, the same author tells us that on the 7th of July, at the northern extremity of Murchison's Bay, he saw a great number of them upon the ledges of a perpendicular cliff of limestone in company with a variety of other birds. It was easy to perceive that the females were sitting upon their eggs; these were at the time quite unapproachable, but on the 30th of June he was ably assisted by a party of men, furnished with long ropes, to get at some of the nests, which consisted of a small quantity of grass, spread upon the bare rock, and rudely lined with grass, seaweed, moss, and feathers.

* * * * *

The KITTIWAKES (Rissa) may be selected as the representatives of the Three-toed Gulls, their distinguishing character being that the hinder toe is wanting or reduced to a mere rudiment. Should other points of difference be sought for, they may be found in the feebleness of the beak and in the proportionately short tarsi. The toes, however, are long, and the feet provided with well-developed webs. In the adults, the plumage upon the head, neck, rump, tail, and under parts of the body is snow-white, and on the mantle blueish grey, the wings are whitish grey, black at the points. The eye is brown, the eye-ring coral-red; the beak citron-yellow, red at the corner of the mouth; the foot black, yellowish in the sole. After their autumnal moult, the hinder neck becomes blueish grey, and a round spot behind the ear black. In young birds, the mantle is dark grey, each feather being margined with black. The length of this Gull is from sixteen to seventeen inches, the breadth thirty-seven to thirty-nine inches; the length of the wing twelve inches, and of the tail five inches.

This bird is an inhabitant of high northern latitudes; during the winter, however, it leaves the frozen ocean, and not only appears in considerable numbers upon the shores of Great Britain, but extends its flight to places much farther south. These Gulls are seen inland more frequently than the generality of their kindred, as they often follow the course of rivers to a considerable distance into the interior of the country, sometimes appearing there in large flocks. In Iceland and Greenland their arrival is always hailed as the harbinger of spring. They make their appearance there between the 8th and 20th of March, and although the weather is still piercingly cold, proceed at once to take possession of the rocks where they intend to breed, as though each pair were anxious to lose no time in securing a resting-place. Should the ledges of the rock happen to be covered with snow, the Kittiwakes are more than usually restless, and their unremitting shrieks are almost deafening. They remain in their summer residence till near November, about which time they leave the fjords and fly away into the open sea.

In their habits the Kittiwakes are perhaps more sociable and noisier than the rest of their family, but in other respects they present nothing particularly noticeable. They walk badly, and therefore seldom come on dry land, but they swim well, even in the roughest weather. Their flight is light, easy, and much diversified, sometimes sweeping around in beautiful gyrations, sometimes urged rapidly forward by long strokes of their wings. Occasionally they will plunge from a considerable altitude into the water, to catch a fish, or seize upon any food that happens to present itself. They never seem to quarrel, and it is really wonderful to observe in what harmony thousands, or we might say millions, of them live together.

For their breeding-places these Gulls invariably select rocks well furnished with ledges, projections, or cavities, ranged one above another, and it is on these shelves or within the hollows, that they place their nests. From the foot of the rock to its very summit, each "coign of vantage" is appropriated, each platform covered, and if not exactly cooing like so many Doves, at least they make as musical shriekings and screechings as a Sea Gull is capable of producing. During all this love-making, great numbers are continually flying hither and thither in search of materials with which to build, so that the whole hill is surrounded with them, and when seen at a distance they present very much the appearance of a swarm of bees. Previous to our visiting Lapland we had read descriptions of these breeding-places, but from them had formed a very imperfect conception of the reality. Never shall we forget the day on which we made an excursion to Svärrholt, not very far from the North Cape. The vast perpendicular front of the rock to which the Gulls resorted, looked as we approached it like a gigantic slate covered all over with millions of little white dots. On our firing a gun, all these millions of shining points seemed to detach themselves from the dark background, afterwards to become alive, next to become Sea Gulls, and then to pour themselves in a continuous stream into the sea. Looking upwards it seemed exactly as if a great snow-storm had begun to shower gigantic flakes from the skies--for minutes together it snowed birds, the whole sea, as far as we could discern, was thickly covered with them, and yet the surface of the rock seemed as densely peopled with birds as at first. We had before thought the narratives we had read were exaggerations, we now found them to be far below the truth. In every nest these birds lay three or four eggs of a dirty rusty yellow, sparsely besprinkled with dots and streaks of a darker tint. It is only reasonable to suppose that each pair devote themselves exclusively to the incubation of their own eggs and the rearing of their own young. But how a pair, among all those hundreds of thousands of nests can ever find their own abode, or even each other, when they have once left their place even for a minute is beyond our comprehension. The young birds remain in the nest till the middle of August, at which time they are sufficiently fledged to enable them to fly out to sea and add their voice to the deafening screeching of their fellows.

* * * * *

The BLACK-HEADED GULLS (Chroicocephalus) constitute a group whose most conspicuous character is that, when in their nuptial dress, their head is covered, as it were, with a black cap. We can hardly, from this circumstance, regard them as a distinct sub-family; nevertheless, they present certain peculiarities not common to the race. All these birds inhabit temperate climates, and seldom or never appear in the northern regions visited by so many other species. The food of the Black-headed Gulls consists principally of insects and small fishes; however, they by no means despise small quadrupeds or carrion. Insects they generally catch in the water and pick from the surface of the ground, but occasionally they take them while on the wing. The young are fed almost exclusively on insects.

THE LAUGHING GULL.

The LAUGHING GULL (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). The adult in summer has the head, occiput, and upper part of the neck of a dark brown, the colour being most intense when first assumed, and becoming lighter by time and wear; the sides and back of the neck are pure white; the back, wing-covers, secondaries, and tertials, uniform French grey; the first three quill primaries white on the shafts and webs, but margined with black; the fourth white on the outer web, grey on the inner web, and edged with black; the fifth and sixth grey on both webs, the edge of the inner or broader web and the point black; tail-covers and tail-feathers white; front of the neck, breast, and all the under surface of the body and tail pure white; legs and feet, like the beak, are vermilion-red; irides hazel; eyelids orange.

The adult bird in winter has the head only slightly marked with a dusky patch at the ear-covers. The young are brownish on the upper parts of the body. This species is sixteen inches long, and thirty-six inches broad; the wing measures twelve and tail five inches.

With regard to the change in colour of the head according to the season of the year, Mr. Yarrell observes: "A Gull in the collection at the Gardens of the Zoological Society began to change colour on the head, from white to dark brown, on the 11th of March; it was a change of colour, and not an act of moulting; no feather was shed, and the change was completed in five days."

The Laughing Gull is plentiful from 30° to 60° north latitude, and within this zone it rears its young. It is met with pretty nearly in equal numbers upon suitable inland waters in Europe, Asia, and America. In the South of Europe it is seen throughout the year; in Central Europe and Great Britain it is only a visitor, leaving us in October and November to take up its quarters upon the shores of the Mediterranean. It is, however, said to be a constant resident in Ireland.

When the snow begins to melt, these Gulls return, and in fine seasons arrive at their more northern terminus towards the end of March, or at the beginning of April. Before commencing their journey, the old birds have already selected their mates; they accompany their partners at once to the breeding-places, but the younger ones seem to defer their courtship till they arrive at their destination. They only live in the sea during the winter, and it is seldom that they breed even on islands near the coast. Fresh waters, surrounded by fields, are their favourite places of resort in the summer season, and here they find everything that they require. These birds are abundant at the mouth of the Thames, where they lay their eggs on the low flat islands and marshes of Essex. In Norfolk an extensive piece of water, called Scoulton Mere, has from time immemorial been one of their favourite breeding-places. The eggs, which are most abundant there about May, are assiduously collected, and are sometimes so plentiful that we are told a man and three boys have obtained 1,600 in a single day.

When swimming, these Gulls may be regarded as ornamental birds, more especially when they are in their full plumage. Their movements are extremely elegant and graceful, they walk quickly, and are not readily tired, and for hours together may be seen following the ploughman, or roaming about fields and meadows in search of insects. They swim beautifully, but not very rapidly. They rise readily into the air, either from the surface of the ground or from the water, and apparently without effort perform a variety of pleasing evolutions during their flight. In some of the Swiss cantons, and in all parts of Southern Europe lying near the sea, they are treated by the inhabitants as if half domesticated. They may be seen everywhere, running about with the greatest confidence, as if they knew very well that no one would attempt to do them an injury. Their voice is harsh and disagreeable, earning for them doubtless the name of Sea Crows, whereby they are generally designated. Towards the end of April the breeding season commences, and after much quarrelling the place selected where each pair is to build its nest. These birds never breed separately, seldom in small parties, but most generally in large flocks, of hundreds or rather thousands of birds, which generally crowd themselves together into a very limited space. Their nests are usually placed upon insulated patches of ground surrounded by water, or situated in the centre of a marsh, and overgrown with sedges, reeds, and rushes; under some circumstances they will build in the marsh itself, sheltering their nests among tufts of grass, but always in some unfrequented situation, to which access is nearly impracticable. The foundation of the nest is laid by flattening down the herbage and lining the cavity so formed with leaves, straw, and similar materials. The eggs, which are deposited about the beginning of May, to the number of four or five in each nest, are tolerably large, of a pale olive-green colour, speckled, spotted, and streaked with ashy-grey and dark brownish grey, but the eggs vary considerably both in size, colour, and markings. The two sexes brood alternately, one or other of them remaining constantly upon the nest during the night, but in the daytime they seem to think the heat of the sun an efficient substitute for their presence. After the lapse of about eighteen days the young make their appearance, and in about three or four weeks afterwards are completely fledged. In situations where the nests are surrounded by water the young ones do not leave them during the first few days, but if they are situated upon dry ground the little nestlings scramble out and run about very actively. When a fortnight old they are able to flutter from place to place, and at the end of the third week are almost able to take care of themselves. The courage with which the parents defend their young is most exemplary. No sooner does an enemy in the shape of a Hawk, a Crow, or a Heron make its appearance, than a tremendous outcry is raised by the whole colony, even the brooding birds leave their nests, and all rush forward to oppose the invader. A dog or fox they attack with equal fury. Should a man intrude upon them they fly around him in circles, screaming with all their might, and if, deafened by the noise, he retires, he is followed to some distance, with every indication of joy at his departure.

In the north of Germany it is common on a certain day to have a general battue, and slaughter the poor Gulls by wholesale. This useless destruction, which, under the name of "the Gull-shooting," serves as an excuse for a general holiday, savours much of the barbarism of the Dark Ages; as, far from being pernicious, these beautiful birds render important services to the farmers by clearing the land of a vast quantity of hurtful insects.

THE GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL.

The GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL (Chroicocephalus ichthyaëtus) in its summer plumage has the entire head and upper neck black, the feathered orbits white, back and wing blue-grey, upper tail-covers and tail pure white, with a black band, primaries with a black band, increasing in width to the outermost one, which has the whole of the web black, the rest of the first five primaries white, the others grey, tipped with white; the other parts of the plumage are pure white; bill red, yellow at tip; irides brown; feet dull red; length about twenty-six inches; wing nineteen to twenty inches; tail seven inches; bill at front two inches and a quarter; tarsus three inches; the closed wing extends about one inch and a half beyond the tail. This bird inhabits Northern and Central Asia, and is rare in India. Jerdon observed it on the sea-coast at Madras, and occasionally ascending the Hooghly and other large rivers. It frequents the borders of the Caspian Sea. The eggs, which are oblong, and marked with deep brown and paler spots, are laid on the bare sand, near large rivers. When flying, the hoarse voice of this bird resembles that of the Rover.