234 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



in his ' History of British Birds,' vol. iii. pp. 311-313, 

 I will only here state that the latter author computes 

 the number of birds, at the time of his visit to 

 Scoulton in May 1885, at about 8000, but says that 

 forty years before that date the colony was estimated 

 at upwards of 20,000. In the edition of Yarrell to 

 which I have above referred I find that Mr. Stevenson 

 is quoted to the effect that at Scoulton the eggs of 

 these Gulls were systematically gathered for sale 

 three days a week, and that between 3000 and 4000 

 had been taken in one day . . . "in this manner 

 from 10,000 to 20,000 eggs have been obtained in 

 different seasons. In 1825 they fetched 4c?. a score ; 

 in 1870, according to Mr. Stevenson, they sold on 

 the spot at ^d. to Is. a score." My personal acquain- 

 tance Avith this species during its breeding-season 

 is confined to another Norfolk locality where the 

 birds have steadily increased in numbers during the 

 last forty years, and are, as I am glad to hear, still 

 well protected ; at the time of my visit most of the 

 eggs — usually three to each nest — were either just 

 hatched or on the point of hatching ; in many cases 

 the young birds took to the water on the close 

 approach of our boat, with fragments of egg-shell 

 still adhering to their down, and in spite of their 

 infancy seemed to be perfectly at their ease, and able 

 to swim rapidly and strongly ; the parent birds kept 

 up an incessant clamour as they stooped around, or 

 hovered over us. The nests were flattened heaps of 

 broken reeds, sedge, and flag-leaves, most of them 

 were piled up in shallow water, a few high and dry 

 on terra jirma. The usual note of this Gull is a 

 harsh monosyllable, much resembling that of the 

 Common Tern, but when excited they utter a sort 



