LARus, Lin. Sze. GULL.
Bill long, or middle-sized, strong, hard, compressed, sharp-edged, hooked towards the tip, lower mandible form ing a salient angle ; nostrils lateral, in the middle of the bill,longitudinally cleft, straight and pervious ; legs slender, naked above the knee, tarsus long, three fore toes quite webbed, the hinder free, short, placed high on the tarsus ; tail feathers of equal length ; wings long.
The birds of this genus are diffused over almost every maritime country ; but they breed most freely, and with least disturbance, in the northern and southern extremities of the world. Flocks of them haunt the sea-shore, in pursuit of living or dead fish ; and such is their voracity, that hardly any thing comes amiss to them ; for they gree dily feed on putrid carcasses of whales, and the refuse of the tide, and they will contend with one another for the most loathsome fare. In the eager indulgence of their ravenous propensities, they swallow the hook along with the bait, and, like other predacious birds, they throw up pellets of feathers, and other indigestible matters ; nay, when harassed or alarmed, they bring up their food with great facility, and, if allowed to recover from their surprise, they will re-swallow the disgorged morsel. Martens, who had perhaps indistinctly observed some instances of such proceedings, oddly enough asserts, that, when chased, they drop their excrement, on which their persecutor seizes with avidity ; and the tale has been industriously copied by various writers. Like most ravenous animals, they are also capable of enduring protracted Among those which M. Baillon kept in confinement, some lived nine days without tasting a particle of food ; and others had been gradually habituated to subsist on grain and the daily diet of the poultry. The young do not attain their full plumage till the second or third year, and before that period they generally consort with one another, apart from the full grown individuals. The latter moult twice in the year ; but the females are distinguished from the males chiefly by being somewhat smaller. The summer livery is generally recognised by the absence of black spots, or bands, on the white of the tail, or on the bill. Gulls are frequently on wing, but also occasionally repose either on the surface of the water or on shore. They breed among the rocks, or downs, and some of the smaller species, in meadows adjacent to the coast. When they flock in num
bers to the land, and are clamorous along the coast, or, when at sea, they alight on ships, they are said to portend a storm. From the conformation of their lengthened wings, they are capable of easy, rapid, and extensive flight. The flesh of most of them is tough, fishy, and repulsive ; yet many of the Greenlanders and North American Indians devour it with greediness. The use of these birds in the economy of nature is analogous to that of vultures on land ; for they contribute to rid the sea and its shores of those animal remains, which, if allowed to accumulate, would multiply the foci of sickness, pestilence, and death. Notwithstanding the frequent occurrence of most of the tribe, the accurate extrication of their species is still a task of no easy performance ; but, as M. Temminck has enjoyed excellent opportunities of examining many of them at leisure, and is preparing a monograph of the web footed families, we shall here, as on various other occasions, take him for our principal guide.
L. glaucus, Gmel. Sab. Tern. Glaucous Gull, and the genuine Burgomaster of the Dutch. Back, shoulders, and wing-coverts, bluish-cinereous ; legs livid ; length of the tarsus within a line or two of three inches ; quill feathers terminated by a large white space; shafts white. The bill is as long and stout as that of L. nzarinus, and of a beau tiful yellow, with the angle of the lower mandible bright red. Orbits red, and the iris yellow. Length of a male specimen, described by Captain Sabine, twenty-nine inches and a half, extent of wing sixty-three inches, and weight four pounds eight ounces. In immature plumage it is mottled throughout with uniform light brown and white. In winter, the mature bird has the head and neck mottled with brown, as is usual with all the white-headed gulls. This species is very common throughout Davis' and Baf fin's Straits, and the north-eastern shores and gulfs, but is more rare in the temperate latitudes. In autumn the young are more frequently observed. Captain Sabine has shown that it is entitled to a place in British ornithology. The glaucous gull feeds on the carcasses and excrements of whales, young penguins, fish, &c.; and, according to voyagers, the female deposits her greenish eggs, of an ob long form, and marked with six or eight black spots, in the holes of rocks.