26 



their brood, although their nesting-place was not discovered. The 

 young birds — which are readily distinguishable from adults of the 

 same species — were frequently observed both by myself and by 

 two of my sons. 



Several nests of the Wind-hover, or Brown-hawk — as it is 

 frequently called, to distinguish it from the Sparrowhawk, to 

 which the name of "blue" hawk is often applied — were found 

 during the breeding season. My sons discovered, I believe, seven 

 nests in all during last spring. The Kestrel frequently makes use 

 of an old nest of the Jackdaw among the rocks of Yew Crag. No 

 nests of the Sparrowhawk were seen this season ; but we heard of 

 a Merlin's nest being found on Matterdale Common. 



Towards the close ot my former paper, I referred to the migra- 

 tions of the Blackheaded Gull, and its arrival upon Ullswater 

 about the beginning of March in each year. About the middle of 

 May, two of my lads set out to visit the guUery at Greystoke. On 

 their arrival they found the nests — rudely constructed of a few dried 

 stems of rushes or sedges, with which the bog abounds — placed 

 upon little islets of rushes in the centre of the swamp, inaccessible 

 to the pedestrian except by wading. They saw that most of the 

 young were already hatched, and that it was just a little too late 

 to get any eggs. The younger brother waded towards the most 

 promising clumps of rushes, where he managed to secure two or 

 three fine specimens of eggs, and capture one of the callow young 

 among the sedges. This proceeding roused the resentment ot the 

 whole colony, and brought the adult members about his ears with 

 hostile intent. They attacked him in a body with such pertinacity 

 that he was glad to invoke the aid of his elder brother in ridding 

 him from his assailants. Their cry is at all times harsh and 

 dissonant, and it smacks of anything rather than the laughter that 

 is associated with their name. Ten days later not an egg remained; 

 but the pools swarmed with young gulls, which paddled about in 

 troops in all directions, generally contriving as quickly as possible 

 to place the width of the pool between themselves and the observer, 

 and sometimes to disappear altogether among the sedges. The 

 old gulls kept hovering about proclaiming their displeasure by 



