LARIDE. 587 
BuiacKHEADED GuLu, Larus ridibundus. Although 
common in many counties in England, especially in 
the eastern ones, I do not think that this Gull can 
be considered more than an occasional visitor to our 
county: when the marsh has been much inundated 
in the autumn I have seen several of them flying 
about over the flooded fields in company with other 
Gulls; and on such occasions I have also seen 
several at the birdstuffers’ and poulterers’ shops in 
Taunton, but these have all been immature birds. 
On our coast, however, I have never at any time of 
the year recognized this bird. 
Like most of the other Gulls these birds collect 
in immense quantities at their breeding stations, but 
do not, like them, select the most lofty and beautiful 
cliffs on the coast for nesting purposes, but, on the 
contrary, repair to flat rushy bogs for that purpose. 
The following account of one of their breeding 
stations is taken from the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1867 
(Second Series, p. 832):—‘‘As you approach the 
spot the birds begin to rise, and when you are fairly 
amongst the eggs all hover in a dense cloud over the 
nests: to endeavour to count them or to form any 
estimate of their number would be futile—as easy to 
say how many flakes of snow one could see falling 
on two acres of ground in a heavy snow storm; 
there must be many thousands. Not the least in- 
teresting is the fact that twenty-six years ago the 
colony consisted of only a lhmited number; now, 
