THE HERRING GULL
Larus argentatus, J. F. Gmelin
This is the commonest of all our Gulls, and may be found abundantly throughout the year, round all our coasts. It nests in colonies, usually on the ledges of precipitous cliffs, although small low islets are occasionally resorted to. The nest is composed of grass, seaweed, and other vegetable débris, and the eggs, three in number, are greenish brown with brown and grey markings, but they are not infrequently of a uniform pale blue. Incubation is undertaken by both sexes. The young as a rule remain in or near the nest till fully fledged, but when the nest is low down near the shore they leave it much sooner. The Herring Gull is practically omnivorous; fish, rats, crustacea, and garbage thrown up by the tide are all equally appreciated, and when nesting near colonies of Guillemots and Cormorants it systematically hunts the ledges and devours any uncovered eggs it can find. During the nesting season it is very noisy and utters a variety of cries; at times the head is bent right down and suddenly thrown up in the air with a loud “ollick, ollick,” which cry is taken and repeated all over the colony. Young Gulls first commence to utter this note, which is not peculiar to the nesting season or to this species, at about three months old. If the colony be approached the birds utter a short “ow-ow”; the pairing note is a deep “mau,” not unlike a cat’s “miau,” and a soft purring “ououou,” the latter note being uttered while the bird sits down and toys with grass or other material at hand.
HERRING GULL
Larus argentatus
Summer
The adult in summer has the mantle French grey, secondaries grey tipped with white, outer primaries black with white tips and large subapical “mirrors.” The rest of the plumage is white. Bill yellow with a red patch at the basal angle. Legs flesh-coloured. The female is said to be smaller than the male, but the difference is not always very apparent. In winter the head and neck are streaked with brownish.
The young in the first autumn are mottled all over with pale brown. They do not become fully adult until their fourth year, though they may sometimes breed in their third year. The adult plumage is assumed gradually, and there is much individual variation both as regards the time and method in which it is assumed. As a rule, however, some grey feathers appear on the back during the first summer; after the second autumn moult the under parts are chiefly white flecked with brown, but the back is chiefly brown. In their second summer much of the brown on the head and under parts is lost, the mantle becomes very grey, and the bill begins to show signs of yellow. The wing coverts and tail are, however, still very mottled.
After the third autumn moult the under parts, head, and neck are much as in the adult birds but more thickly mottled, the back chiefly grey, but the wing coverts, wings, and tail are still very brownish. In their third summer they are practically in adult plumage except for the wings and tail and a remnant of black on the bill. After the fourth autumn moult they are in full adult plumage except that the bill may still show some traces of black and occasionally the tail has some brown flecks, but by the time their fourth summer comes round they are in full adult plumage and breed.
Immature birds are seldom seen among colonies of adults during the summer, and it is still somewhat doubtful where they spend the summer; possibly round some islets out at sea where food is plentiful. Length 24 in.; wing 17 in.
THE LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Larus fuscus, Linnæus
Very closely allied to the Herring Gull, this species is tolerably common everywhere, but is rather more local in the breeding season. In England it nests but sparingly and only in the west, but in Scotland it becomes much more abundant, and in some districts commits considerable havoc among the game-birds on the moors.