THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. 163 



e&Im, they wiU rise up in the air, spirally, chattering all the 

 while to each other in the most sprightly manner, their 

 notes at such times resembling the singing of a hen, but faj 

 ouder, changing often into a haw, ha, ha, ha, haw! the 

 ast syllable lengthened out like the excessive laugh of a 

 aegro. When mounting and mingling together, like motes 

 in the sunbeams, their black heads and wing-tips, and snow- 

 white plumage, give them a very beautiful appearance. 

 After gaming an immense height, they all move oflP, with 

 one consent, in a direct line towards the point of their 

 destination. 



This bird breeds in the marshes. The eggs are three in 

 number, of a dun clay colour, thinly marked with small, 

 irregular touches of a pale purple, and pale brown; some 

 are of a deeper dun, with larger marks, and less tapering 

 than others; the egg measures two inches and a quarter by 

 one inch and a half. 



The Black-Heads frequently penetrate into the interior, 

 ^pecially as far as Philadelphia; but they seem to prefer 

 U»e neighbourhood of the coast for the purpose of breeding. 

 They retire southward eariy in autumn. 



ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES. 



This species is found in every part of Kussia and Siberia, 

 •nd even m Kamtschatka. 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 



