The Herring Gull 



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 com- 

 mence 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. 



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 



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