BLACK-HEADED GULL. 293 



lower part of the neck and the under plumage 

 assumes a slight rosy tint, but the lower part of 

 the back and tail remain of a pure white ; the bill 

 becomes of an arterial blood-red colour, and the 

 legs and toes acquire an additional intensity of 

 hue." * In winter the black of the head is lost and 

 becomes white, marked on the " anterior angle of 

 the eye, ear-coverts, nape, and back part of the 

 neck with deep blackish grey." In the first plu- 

 mage there is a considerable mixture of clove-brown 

 with the upper plumage, and the tail is terminated 

 by a broad black bar. 



THE BLACK-HEADED GULL, LARUS RIDIBUNDUS, 

 Linn. La mouette rieuse, ou a Capuchin brun> 

 Temm. Black-headed Gull, Red-legged or Laugh- 

 ing Gull, of British authors. This is the most com- 

 mon and best known species of all the British Black- 

 headed Gulls, being generally distributed over Great 

 Britain and Ireland, and assembling in large colonies 

 to breed in marshes or reedy lakes ; in some parts 

 it is protected, and the benefit of collecting the eggs 

 is let. Early in spring, before taking up their breed- 

 ing stations, and before having attained the black 

 head, these gulls assemble in small parties during 

 the day, often following the plough, but apparently 

 returning for a time to the coast at night. The 

 black head is assumed in the course of a week, 

 the change of colour being extremely rapid, and 

 * Selby. 



