LAEUS CACHINNANS 373 



An example of the species has once been obtained in England. 



In its habits this Gull resembles its near ally L. argentatus. It 

 frequents both rocky localities and open expanses of seashore, and 

 may be met with far out at sea, often accompanying steamers for a 

 considerable distance, on the chance of picking up refuse food. On 

 such occasions its powers of flight may be seen to the greatest advan- 

 tage, as the bird follows in the wake of a vessel with the utmost ease, 

 darting down from time to time and snatching some morsel of food 

 from the surface of the water, and then quickly regaining its former 

 position. When seen near land, its flight is usually much slower, 

 though always graceful and full of power. 



Clever and wary to a degree, this Gull is not easily approached or 

 outwitted, though in countries where it is unmolested it becomes 

 tame and confiding. At Constantinople it will allow a boat to pass 

 within a few yards of it without taking flight, and Mr. Meade-Waldo 

 {Ihis, 1890, p. 436) relates how at Papagayo, a small village near 

 Fuerteventura, the species is absolutely tame, walking about among 

 the children and pecking at food held in their hands, and sitting on 

 the tops of the houses. 



The species may be said to be omnivorous, for it will devour 

 almost anything, from fish of all kinds to insects, worms, grain, eggs, 

 and young birds, offal and other garbage. 



Its call note is a laughing " ha, ha, ha," and its alarm cry a harsh 

 guttural " kijaivk." 



This Gull breeds, in May and June, on most of the small islands 

 off the Tunisian coast, as also probably in some of the more secluded 

 and quiet parts of the mainland, such as the neighbourhood of Cape 

 Bon and similar localities. I have eggs of the species from the 

 Island of Djerba and notes of its breeding on the islands of Zembra 

 and Curiat. Apparently it is more or less indifferent as to the actual 

 site of its breeding-quarters, provided the spot be a quiet one, where 

 it is not likely to be disturbed. According to Blanc the species is to 

 be found nesting in South Tunisia on the low-lying islets almost on 

 a level with the water's edge, whereas in the north of the Regency its 

 nests may be met with on rugged cliffs and rocks twenty to thirty 

 metres above the level of the sea. The nest itself is generally rather 

 a bulky structure composed of dry twigs and grasses, but not unfre- 

 quently the eggs are deposited in a mere depression on the bare 

 ground. The number of eggs laid is usually two or three, and their 



