. Natural history. Zoology. GULLS—SKUAS. 263. allies, another British species being the little gull (i. minntui). The other gulls with which we are familiar in this country, such as the greater black- backed gull {L. marhms), the lesser black-backed gull (L. fuscns), the her- ring gull (L. argentatus), liave white heads and white tails. The habits of gulls are much the same all the world over. They feed mostly on fish ; but some of the larger kinds are not only great robbers, but will eat almost anything, and will devour young birds and even sickly mammals. The little black-headed gull, on the
. Natural history. Zoology. GULLS—SKUAS. 263. allies, another British species being the little gull (i. minntui). The other gulls with which we are familiar in this country, such as the greater black- backed gull {L. marhms), the lesser black-backed gull (L. fuscns), the her- ring gull (L. argentatus), liave white heads and white tails. The habits of gulls are much the same all the world over. They feed mostly on fish ; but some of the larger kinds are not only great robbers, but will eat almost anything, and will devour young birds and even sickly mammals. The little black-headed gull, on the other hand, is a most useful bird, as it frequents and breeds in inland districts, where it often follows the plough, and devours large numbers of grubs and insects. The other gulls breed on the rocky coasts, mostly in the north, sometimes in vast numbers together. This is especially the case with tlie kittiwake {Bissa tridactyla), which is separated from the true gulls on account of the absence of a hind toe. The skuas are often called the parasitic gulls, from their habit of robbing the smaller gulls of their food, instead of catching it for tbemselves. They differ from the true gulls in having a cere, or bare wax-like base, to the bill. The latter is very strongly hooked at the tip, and in the posterior portion of the sternum, or breast- bone, tliere is only a single notch, instead of two, as in the gulls. Four species of the great skuas are known, of which one, M. catarrhactes, is an inhabitant of the North Atlantic, where it breeds in a few scattered localities, such as Iceland, the The Great Skuas. Faeroes, and —Genus Norway, and a MegaXestris. few pairs still nest in the Shetland Isles, where great pains are now taken to preserve them, as they had be- come nearly extinct there. They not only feed on fish and car- rion, but rob other gulls of their prey, and even kill and eat some of the smaller species. The eggs are two in number, and the birds becomo very bold in d
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