LARUS MELANOCEPHALUS 365 



observable in the white head more or less striped with dark brown, the 

 mottled brown upper parts, the dark brown quills and the dark brown band 

 at the tip of the tail. 



This Gull, though not nearly so numerous as the preceding species, 

 is not uncommon in Tunisia, in winter and on passage, arriving and 

 departing together with that bird. It may be met with not un- 

 frequently in the neighbourhood of the town of Tunis, as also near 

 Sousa and Monastir, and probaljly all along the coast of the Eegency, 

 though not inland. 



According to Loche the species is fairly common on all the 

 Algerian coast. Colonel Irby states that it occurs occasionally in 

 the Straits of Gibraltar in winter, but that he never obtained an 

 example with the black head. 



The range of this Gull appears to be confined to the Mediterranean 

 and Black Seas, Spain, Portugal and France. It has once or twice 

 been obtained as far north as England, and winters as far south as 

 Nubia. Its chief breeding-grounds seem to be on the coasts of Asia 

 Minor, but it has been found nesting in Hungary. 



Though resembling the preceding species in many respects, the 

 Mediterranean Black-headed Gull differs in being essentially a marine 

 bird, frequenting the sea-coast, and rarely visiting inland localities. 

 Its cry is also different from that of L. ridibundus, being rather 

 deeper and harsher, and more like that of L. cachinnans. 



In its flight and general movements, as well as in its food, the 

 present species does not differ appreciably from L. ridibundus, and 

 when kept together in captivity, the two species associate amicably, 

 though each naturally prefers the company of its own kind. Both 

 species become very tame in confinement and appear to be perfectly 

 happy under such conditions. Numbers of this Gull, as well as of 

 L. ridibundus and L. cachinnans, are caught by the Sicilian fishermen 

 in the Bay of Palermo. 



