160 Sea && Shore Birds 



At first, greater and lesser black-backs, as well as 

 herring gulls, are of a mottled brown, their bills dark 

 horn-colour, and their legs and feet grey. In the 

 second autumnal moult a large sprinkling of white 

 feathers appear on the back in the case of the herrings, 

 and dark grey in that of the black-backs. 



In the third autumn the adult plumage is almost 

 entirely assumed ; and in the following spring, the 

 fourth, my birds seemed to have their full plumage. 



Perhaps their bills do not attain the height of the 

 bright yellow colouring with the orange spot, until a 

 little later. 



The length of time that these gulls take in assum- 

 ing their full plumage, probably is a sign that they 

 are very long-lived birds. 



One herring gull that I had was a real tyrant ; and, 

 especially during the breeding season, would run at 

 people with outstretched wings, mewing in a weird 

 and defiant way. 



Woe betide your legs if he pinched you on the 

 calf! 



After several vicious pecks, he would throw his 

 head back, and scream " Cah, cah, cah, cah," with 

 widely-opened throat. 



One spring he busily collected sticks and leaves, 

 of which he made a nest on the verge of a fountain 

 in the garden, where he would sit solemnly for hours 

 at a time. 



" Snub," a very sporting black pug, was one morn- 

 ing sniffing about not far off, with his back to the old 

 gull, quite innocent of any danger. 



