. A history of British birds : the figures engraved on wood . lessdimensions. The larger kinds are not so common in thewarm, as they are in the cold climates, where they re-main to breed and rear their young, feeding chiefly uponthe rotting carcases of dead whales, &c. which they findfloating on the sea, among the ice, or driven on shore bythe winds and waves •, and many are said to remain inthe dreary regions of ice and snow during the winter,the extreme severity of which does not compel them allto quit their native climes. In the temperate and cultivated countries they occa-sionally leave th
. A history of British birds : the figures engraved on wood . lessdimensions. The larger kinds are not so common in thewarm, as they are in the cold climates, where they re-main to breed and rear their young, feeding chiefly uponthe rotting carcases of dead whales, &c. which they findfloating on the sea, among the ice, or driven on shore bythe winds and waves •, and many are said to remain inthe dreary regions of ice and snow during the winter,the extreme severity of which does not compel them allto quit their native climes. In the temperate and cultivated countries they occa-sionally leave the shores, and make excursions inland,tempted probably to search for a change of food, such asworms, slugs, &c. and of these they find, for a time, anabundant supply on the downs and pastures which theyvisit. The jelly-like substance which Is sometimes met BRITISH BIRDS. 191 with in the fields, and known by the name of star-shotyis believed to be the remains of half-digested worms, & they have discharged from their over-loaded THE BLACK-BACKED GULL, OR, GREAT BLACK AND WHITE GULL.( Lams mariTius, Lin.—Le Gotland noir. Buff.) This species, which is the largest of the tribe, measurestwenty-nine inches in length, and five feet nine inches inbreadth, and weighs nearly five pounds. The bill ispale yellow, very firm, strong, and thick, and nearly fourinches long from the tip to the corners of the mouth:the projecting angle on the lower mandible is red, ororange, with a black spot in the middle, on each side:the irides are yellow, and the edges of the eye-lids upper part of the back and wings is bla^k : all the 192 BRITISH BIRDS. other parts of its plumage, and the tips of the quills, arewhite : the legs pale flesh colour. Gulls of this species are common in the northern partsof Europe, the rocky isles of the North Sea, and inGreenland, but are only thinly scattered on the coasts ofEngland, where they, however, sometimes remain tobreed on the highest c
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