176 THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 



of Black-headed Gulls may be seen following the 

 plough, feeding on the worms and larvse brought to 

 the surface. In summer, they diet largely upon 

 the perfect imago of the ghost moth, and their 

 graceful pursuit becomes animated towards the 

 ofloaminsf. 



The dark nuptial hood is rapidly assumed, 

 generally with the first days of March, but there 

 is no strict rule ; we have seen several adults in 

 full breeding plumage in January and February, 

 and, in 1884, observed upon the Eden a single 

 individual which had fully assumed the hood on 

 December 19th, though the black bar on the tail, 

 and the wing coverts mottled with brown, proved 

 that it was not adult. 



The downy nestling varies from fawn to grey in 

 ground, mottled with black on the upper parts. A 

 nestling of the fawn type, taken on Bowness flow, 

 in June, exhibits a small bar of black upon the 

 chin ; the lower parts are buffy-white. The down 

 lingers longest on the head, breast, and lower parts. 

 A female in first feather, shot in August, 1884, 

 exhibits the pretty immature plumage to be ob- 

 served in so many of those which frequent our 

 rivers during early autumn. The head is capped 

 with cinnamon-brown ; the neck, white ; the back, 

 scapulars, tertiaries, and smaller wing coverts, 

 appear at first sight to be brown, but if the 

 feathers be raised, it will be seen that the feathers 

 are really lavender, broadly margined towards their 

 extremity w4th brown. The tail is terminated by 

 a black band. The upper breast is washed with 



