the gull, in ornithology; a genus belonging to the order of anseres, the characters of which are these: The bill is straight, cultrated, a little crooked at the point, and without teeth; the inferior mandible is gibbous below the apex; the nostrils are linear, a little broader before, and situated in the middle of the beak. The different species are principally distinguished by their colour.

1. The marinus, or black-backed gull, is in length 29 inches; in breadth five feet nine. The bill is very strong and thick, and almost four inches long; the colour a pale yellow; but the lower mandible is marked with a red spot, with a black one in the middle. The head, neck, whole under-side, tail, and lower-part of the back, are white; the upper-part of the back, and wings, are black; the quill-feathers tipped with white, the legs of a pale flesh-colour. It inhabits several parts of England, and breeds on the highest cliffs. The egg is blunt at each end; of a dusky olive-colour; quite black at the greater end, and the rest of it thinly marked with dusky spots. It is also common on most of the northern coasts of Europe. It frequents Greenland; but chiefly inhabits the distant rocks. It lays three eggs in May, placing them on the heaps of dung which the birds leave there from time to time. It is said to attack other birds, and to be particularly an enemy to the eider duck. It very greedily devours carrion, though the most general food is fish. It is common also in America, as low as South Carolina, where it is called the old wife.

2. The cataractæ, or Skua gull, is in length two feet; the extent four feet and a half; the weight three pounds; the bill is two inches one-fourth long, very much hooked at the end, and very sharp; the upper mandible covered more than half-way with a black cere or skin, as in the hawk kind; the nostrils are placed near the bend, and are pervious. The feathers on the head, neck, back, scapulars, and coverts of the wings, are of a deep brown, marked with rufi-colour (brightest in the male). The breast, belly, and vent, are ferruginous, tinged with ash-colour. The tail when spread is circular, of a deep brown, white at the root, and with shafts of the same colour. The legs are covered with great black falcons: the talons black, strong, and crooked; the interior remarkably so.—This bird inhabits Norway, the Ferroe isles, Shetland, and the noted rock Foula a little west of them. It is also a native of the South Sea. It is the most formidable of the gulls; its prey being not only fish, but what is wonderful in a web-footed bird, all the lesser sort of water-fowl, such as teal, &c. Mr Schroter, a surgeon in the Ferroe isles, relates that it likewise preys on ducks, poultry, and even young lambs. It has all the fierceness of the eagle in defending its young; when the inhabitants of those islands visit the nest, it attacks them with great force, so that they hold a knife erect over their heads, on which the skua will transfix itself in its fall on the invaders. The Rev. Mr Low, minister of Birla in Orkney, confirmed part of the above account: On approaching the quarters of these birds, they attacked him and his company with most violent blows; and intimidated a bold dog of Mr Low's in such a manner, as to drive him for protection to his master. The natives are often very rudely treated by them while they are attending their sheep on the hills; and are obliged to guard their heads by holding up their sticks, on which the birds often kill themselves. In Foula it is a privileged bird, because it defends the flocks from the eagle, which it beats and pursues with great fury; so that even that rapacious bird seldom ventures near its quarters. The natives of Foula on this account lay a fine on any person who destroys one: they deny that it ever injures their flocks or poultry; but imagine it preys on the dung of the arctic and other larger gulls, which it persecutes till they moot for fear.—These birds are also frequent in many high latitudes of the southern hemisphere: our circumnavigators met with them in Falkland isles, particularly about Port Egmont, whence called Port Egmont hens. In this place, and at Terra del Fuego, they were observed to make their nests among the dry grass. After breeding-time, they disperse over the ocean, and for the most part are seen in pairs. They are met with in Kerguelen's land, and off the Cape of Good Hope, and other parts. In all places its manners are the same in respect to ferocity: it is frequently seen to attack the largest albatrosses, beating it with great violence so long as it remains on the wing; at which time this cowardly giant finds no other resource than to settle on the water; upon which the skua flies away.

3. The parasiticus, or dung-hunter, is in length 21 inches. The bill is an inch and a half long, pretty much hooked, and of a dusky colour: the nostrils are placed in a kind of cere: the top of the head is black; the sides of it, forehead, neck, and all beneath, white; across the breast there is a pale dusky bar: the upper parts of the body, wings, and tail, are black; the base of the quills white on the inner webs; and the two middle feathers of the tail are near four inches longer than the rest; the legs are scaly, not very stout; the colour of them is black. The female is said to be entirely brown, paler beneath; and the middle tail feathers only two inches longer than the others. This is a northern species; and very common in the Hebrides, where it breeds on heath. It comes in May, and retires in August; and if disturbed flies about like the lapwing, but soon alights. It is also found in the Orkneys; and on the coasts of Yorkshire, where it is called the sea-gull. It is met with likewise on the northern coasts of Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, as far as Kamtchatka; and it is common in Greenland, where it frequents the open sea, as well as the bays. The female makes an artless nest of grass and moss, on a hillock in some marshy place, and lays two ash-coloured eggs, spotted with black, the size of those of a hen. This bird does not often swim, and flies generally in a slow manner, except it be in pursuit of other birds; which it often attacks, in order to make them dif- gorge the fish or other food, which this common plunderer greedily catches up. Most authors have told us, that it is the dung of the birds which it searches after in the pursuit; but latter observations inform us that the circumstance is not true; though, from the supposition of its being so, the bird has obtained the name of *front-jager*.

4. The fulcus, or herring-gull, weighs upwards of 30 ounces; the length 23 inches, its breadth 5½; the bill is yellow, and the lower mandible marked with an orange-coloured spot; the back and coverts of the wings are ash-coloured; the upper part of the five first quill-feathers are black, marked with a white spot near their end; the legs of a pale flesh-colour. These birds breed on the ledges of rocks that hang over the sea; they make a large nest of dead grass; and lay three eggs of a dirty white, spotted with black. The young are ash-coloured, spotted with brown. They do not come to their proper colour the first year; this is common to other gulls; which has greatly multiplied the species among authors, who are inattentive to these particulars. This gull is a great devourer of fish, especially of that from which it takes its name; it is a constant attendant on the nets, and so bold as to seize its prey before the fishermen's faces.—The herring gull is common in this kingdom, and frequents the same places as the black-backed. It is also found in most of the northern parts of Europe, as well as about the Caspian and Black seas and the rivers which fall into them, and about the great lakes of Siberia. It is found likewise in Iceland, Greenland, and Hudson's Bay. In winter it migrates south, being found in Jamaica; and is said to breed on some of the islands on the coast of South Carolina.

5. The nævius, or wagel, is a large species, being near two feet in length, and in breadth about five; weight, near three pounds. The bill is black; two inches and a half long; the irides are dusky; the whole plumage is composed of a mixed brown, ash-colour, and white; the middle of each feather brown; the under parts of the body are the same, but paler; the quills are black; the lower part of the tail is mottled black and white; near the end is a bar of black, and beyond this the end is white; the legs are of a dirty flesh-colour, in some white.—This species frequents the sea-shores of many parts of England, though not in any considerable numbers. At times it is seen on the banks of the Thames along with other gulls; and is there supposed to be the female of the black-backed; but this has not yet been determined sufficiently by authors.

6. The hybernius, or winter-gull, winter-mew, or coddy-moddy, weighs from 14 to 17 ounces; the length 18 inches, the breadth three feet nine. The irides are hazel; the bill is two inches long, but the slenderest of any gull; black at the tip, and whitish towards the base. The crown of the head, and hind-part and sides of the neck, are white, marked with oblong dusky spots; the forehead, throat, middle of the breast, belly, and rump, white; the back and scapulars of a pale grey, the last spotted with brown; the coverts of the wings are of a pale brown, edged with white; the first quill-feather is black, the succeeding ones are tipped with white; the tail is white, crossed near the end with a black bar; the legs are of a dirty bluish white. This kind frequents, during winter, the moist meadows in the inland parts of England, remote from the sea. The gelatinous substance, known by the name of *flar-bot*, or *flar-gelly*, owes its origin to this bird, or some of the kind; being nothing but the half digested remains of earth-worms, which these birds feed on, and often discharge from their stomachs.

7. The canus, or common gull, is in length 16 or 17 inches; in breadth 36; weight one pound. The bill is yellow; the irides are hazel, and the eye-lids brown; the head, neck, under parts of the body, and tail, are white; the back and wings, pale grey; the outer-edge of the four first quills, and tips of the first five, are black; but the fourth and fifth have a white spot at the tips; the rest, except the three nearest the body, have the ends white; the legs are of a dull greenish white. This seems to be the most common of all the gulls, being found in vast numbers on our shores and rivers which are contiguous to the sea. It is seen also very far north, as far as Iceland and the Russian lakes; it is met with in the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea, in various shores of the Mediterranean, and as far south as Greece; and it is found also in America, on the coast of Newfoundland. It breeds on the rocks and cliffs, like others of the genus; and the eggs are two inches and a half in length, of a deep olive brown, marked with irregular deep reddish blotches. It is a tame species, and may be seen by hundreds on the shores of the Thames and other rivers, in the winter and spring, at low tides, picking up the various worms and small fish left by the tides; and will often follow the plough in the fields contiguous, for the sake of worms and insects which are turned up, particularly the cockchafer or dorbeetle in its larval state, which it joins with the rocks in devouring most greedily.

8. The tridactylus, or tarrock, is in length 14 inches, breadth 36; weight seven ounces. The bill is short, thick, and black; the head, neck, and under parts, are white; near each ear, and under the throat, there is a black spot; and at the hind part of the neck a crescent of black; the back and scapulars are bluish grey; the wing-coverts dusky edged with grey, some of the larger wholly grey; the exterior sides and ends of the first four quills are black, tips of the two next black, all the rest white; the ten middle feathers of the tail are white tipped with black, the two outermost wholly white; the legs are of a dusky ash-colour; in lieu of the back toe, it has only a protuberance. This breeds in Scotland with the kittiwake; and inhabits other parts of northern Europe, quite to Iceland and Spitzbergen, the Baltic and White Sea, as also Kamchatka. It is common in Greenland in summer. It comes in spring, and frequents the sea-shores; builds in the rocky crags of the bays; in June lays two eggs of a greenish ash-colour spotted with brown; and retires from the shores in autumn. It is observed frequently to attend the whales and seals, for the sake of the fish which the last drive before them into the shallows, when these birds dart into the water suddenly and make them their prey. They are very noisy birds, especially during the time of incubation. They swim well, and fly equally well, and for a long time together; they are often observed on portions of ice swimming in the sea. Both the flesh and eggs are esteemed by the Greenlanders, and the skins used as garments.

9. The rissa, or kittiwake, is in length 14 inches, in extent three feet two. When arrived at full age, the head, neck, belly, and tail, are of a snowy whiteness; behind each ear is sometimes a dusky spot; the back and wings are grey; the exterior edge of the first quill-feather, and tips of the four or five next, are black; the bill is yellow, tinged with green; and the inside of the mouth is orange; the legs are dusky, with only a knob instead of the back-toe. It inhabits the romantic cliffs of Flamborough-head (where it is called petrel), the Baïs île, the vast rocks near the castle of Slains in the county of Aberdeen, and Priestholm île. The young of these birds are a favourite dish in North Britain, being served up roasted, a little before dinner, in order to provoke the appetite; but from their rank taste and smell, seem much more likely to produce a contrary effect. This bird is likewise met with at Newfoundland; in Greenland, Spitzbergen, Iceland, and the north of Europe; the arctic coast of Asia; and Kamchatka. By the Icelanders it is called viða. Some authors affirm the kittiwake to be the tarrock in a state of perfection; while others maintain the contrary.

10. The ridibundus, pewit, or black-head gull, is in length 15 inches, breadth three feet; weight 10 ounces. The bill is rather slender, and of a blood-red; the eye-lids are red, and the irides hazel; the head and throat are dusky brown, in old birds black; and on each eye-lid is a small white spot; the back and wings are of an ash-colour; the neck, all the under parts, and tail, are white; the ten first quills are white, margined and more or less tipped with black; the others of an ash-colour, with white ends; the legs are of the colour of the bill, the claws black. This species breeds on the shores of some of our rivers; but full as often in the inland fens of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and other parts of England. They make their nest on the ground, with rushes, dead grass, and such like; and lay three eggs of a greenish brown marked with red brown blotches. After the breeding season, they again disperse to the sea-coasts. They breed also in Northumberland and Scotland; and are found throughout Russia and Siberia, as far as Kamchatka, but not farther to the north. They are seen throughout the winter at Aleppo, in great numbers; and so tame, that the women are said to call them from the terraces of their houses, throwing up pieces of bread, which these birds catch in the air. They inhabit North America, coming into New England in May and departing in August. The young birds in the neighbourhood of the Thames are thought good eating, and are called the red-legs. They were formerly more esteemed, and numbers were annually taken and fattened for the table. Plott gives a marvellous account of their attachment to the lord of the soil they inhabit; inasmuch, that on his death they never fail to shift their quarters for a certain time. Whitelock, in his Annals, mentions a piece of ground near Portsmouth, which produced to the owner 40l. a-year by the sale of pewits, or this species of gull. There are the sea-gulls that in old times were admitted to the noblemen's tables. The note of these gulls is like a hoarse laugh.

11. The atricilla, or laughing-gull, is in length 18 inches, breadth three feet. It differs from that bird only in the legs, which are black instead of red. It is found in Russia on the river Don, particularly about Tchereck. The note resembles a coarse laugh, whence the name of the bird. Is met with also in different parts of the continent of America; and is very numerous in the Bahama islands.

There are 9 or 10 other species of this genus.