610 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
change from this plumage in my tame ones is the 
13th of October, 1867, the year following their cap- 
ture: “ One of the Gulls assuming his grey plumage, 
many of the gull-grey feathers appearing amongst 
the brown ones on the back and scapulars: at this 
time it very nearly agrees with the young Common 
Gull (described at p. 602); the others are still much 
in the same plumage they were in last year.” The 
next note is in May of the following year, 1868: 
“The Gulls have their bills all yellow now, except a 
small band of black all round near the tip; irides 
light greyish yellow.” Then, on the 8th of July: 
“The most forward of the Gulls has just grown one 
new quill-feather, black with the white spot at the 
tip, and the black on the bill is reduced to a small 
spot near the tip, and the red is just appearing on 
the angle of the lower mandible:” this afterwards 
disappeared and has not yet returned. ‘Towards the 
end of July they began to change towards winter 
plumage, for the heads and necks, which had just 
become quite white, then got gradually streaked with 
pale dusky brown: on the 8th of August the most 
forward completed his white tail. At the present 
time (the end of January, 1869) the irides of all are 
pale yellow; the bills yellow, except a black patch 
about the angle of the lower mandible, which extends 
up the sides of the upper mandible, but not over the 
ridge,—the extreme tips are pale horn-colour; the 
gull-srey is gradually supplanting the brown on the 
