BLACK-HEADED GULL, 599 



Of this kind (be says) are those birds which yearly build 

 and breed at Norbury, in Staffordshire, in an island in the 

 middle of a great pool in the grounds of Mr. Skrimshaw, 

 distant at least thirty miles from the sea. Here they take 

 yearly about a thousand two hundred young ones : whence 

 it may be computed what profit the lord makes of them." 



It was this ' gullery ' which John Ray visited during one 

 of his tours, in May, 1662. On his way from Stafford to 

 Nantwich he says (Itin., pp. 216, 217) : — " We diverted out 

 of our way to see the Puits, which we judged to be a sort of 

 Lari, in a meer at Norbury, belonging to Col. Skrimshaw. 

 They build together in an islet in the middle of a pool. 

 Each hen layeth three or four eggs of a dirty blue or sea 

 green spotted with black : at the driving every year they 

 take commonly above a hundred dozen young, which they 

 sell at five shillings the dozen. The colour of the Puit is 

 near that of a Seameiv ; i.e. white and somewhat flecked, 

 only the head is perfectly black ; about the bigness of a Teal 

 or a Widgeon." 



The annual driving of these Gulls, referred to by Ray, has 

 been particularly described by Plot in his ' History of Staf- 

 fordshire,' 1686, where a very interesting account is given 

 of this ' gullery.' It appears that there was more than 

 one pool on the Skrymsher Estate, to which these birds used 

 to resort and breed. They anciently came to the old ' Pewit 

 pool,' known as Shebden Pool, about half a mile south-west 

 of Norbury Church, but removed on the death of the head of 

 the family to Offley Moss, near Woods Eves, where they 

 continued about three years, and then returned to ' the old 

 Pewit poole ' again. After another attempt to laying at 

 Offley Moss, they did not breed at all one year, and the year 

 following went to Aqualate Mere, then belonging to the 

 Skrymsher family, by whom Aqualate Hall was built in 

 1633, but now to the Boughey family : — 



" After three weeks' setting," says Plot, " the young ones 

 are hatched, and about a month after are ready to flye, 

 which usually happens on the Brd of June, when the pro- 

 prietor of the poole orders them to be driven and catch'd. 



