THE HERRING GULL.
The HERRING GULL (Larus argentatus). In summer the adults have the head and neck pure white, the back and all the wing-covers uniform delicate French grey; tertials tipped with white; primaries mostly black, but grey on basal portion of inner web, and the first primary with a triangular patch of white at the end, the second and third with smaller portions of white; upper tail-covers and tail-feathers pure white; chin, throat, breast, belly, and whole of under surface of body and tail pure white; legs and feet flesh-colour; bill yellow, angle of under mandible red; edges of eyelids orange, irides straw-yellow. The length is from twenty-two inches to twenty-four inches and a half, depending on the age and sex; wing from sixteen inches and a half to seventeen and a quarter long. In winter the adult birds have the head streaked with dusky grey. This species is common along the whole of the south coast of England, and is particularly numerous in the Isle of Wight, from Freshwater Bay to the Needles.[Pg 191] During winter the Herring Gulls spread themselves along the coast, especially frequenting the estuaries where young herrings are congregated. "When engaged with a shoal of fry," says Macgillivray, "the Herring Gulls hover over the water, now ascending to a height perhaps of twenty feet, then skimming close over the surface, and on observing an object, stretching upward and vibrating their wings and letting down their feet so as to touch and sometimes pat the water, they pick it up without alighting. Sometimes they plunge partly into the water, and occasionally seize their prey while swimming. All this while they emit now and then a loud and rather shrill cry. They feed on shell-fish, and occasionally large dead fishes, crustaceans, molluscs, echini, &c. During the winter and spring they travel inland, seeking for insects, worms, and similar fare, they rest on beaches and headlands, usually lying down, but sometimes standing on one leg."
Audubon observed these birds in great numbers in the Bay of Fundy. "The rocky shores of the islands on which I saw them breeding," says this writer, "are covered with multitudes of sea-urchins, having short greenish spines, which give them the semblance of a ball of moss. At low water, the Herring Gulls frequently devour these animals, thrusting their bill through the shell and sucking its contents. They also take up shells into the air and drop them upon the rocks to break them. We saw one that had met with a very hard mussel, take it up and drop it three times in succession before it succeeded in breaking it, and I was much pleased to see the bird let it fall each succeeding time from a greater height than before." While on Whitehead Island, in the Bay of Fundy, Audubon saw numbers of the nests of these birds on fir-trees, some being placed near the top, others on the middle or lower parts of the trees. He was informed by the proprietor of the district that in his memory these Gulls had built their nests on moss, on open ground, but their nests having been robbed and the birds otherwise annoyed, they had betaken themselves to the thickest parts of the woods, hoping that by placing their nests on the trees they would be out of the reach of their arch-enemy, man. The nest of the Herring Gull, which is frequently placed on ledges of rocks, is usually formed of grass, or any other vegetable matter that may be at hand. The eggs are laid about May: these vary much both in size and colour. The young remain in the nest until they are partially fledged, but at once quit it if alarmed, and frequently take to the water if pursued.
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[Pg 192] 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[Pg 193] 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.