LAUGHING GULL. 237 



ity and noise ; companies are even seen at times around the 

 farm-house, or coursing along the river shores, attending upon 

 the track of the fishermen for garbage, gleaning among the 

 refuse of the tide ; or, scattering over the marshes and plough- 

 ing fields, they collect, at this season, an abundant repast of 

 worms, insects, and their larvae. Great numbers are also seen 

 collected together to feed upon the prolific spawn of the king- 

 crab. While thus engaged, if approached they rise, as it were, 

 in clouds, at the same time squalling so loudly that the din 

 may be heard for two or three miles. 



The Black-Headed Gulls breed in the marshes of New 

 Jersey, but are not seen during the breeding-period in New 

 England, and are indeed at all times rare in this quarter. Be- 

 ing apparently a somewhat tender species, they retire to the 

 South early in autumn, and on commencing their migrations, 

 if the weather be calm, they are seen to rise up in the air spir- 

 ally, all loudly chattering as it were in concert, like a flock of 

 cackling hens, the note changing at short intervals into a 

 ^haw, 'ha ''ha ''ha ''haw, the final syllable lengthened out into 

 an excessive and broad laugh. After ascending to a consider- 

 able height, they all move off, by common consent, in the line 

 of their intended destination. 



On the 4th of March (1830), while at Beaufort, North 

 Carolina, in company with several other species I saw a small 

 flock of these Risible Gulls, which every now and then, while 

 amusing themselves by fishing and plunging after their prey 

 of fry, burst out very oddly into an oh oh agh agh, or a coarse, 

 laughing scream. 



The Laughing Gulls used to breed in numbers on the Nantucket 

 islands, but they have been nearly exterminated, though during the 

 last few years, thanks to the efforts of Mr. George H. Mackay, of 

 Boston, the colony there has been protected and is increasing. To 

 the southward these birds are still common, being particularly abun- 

 dant on the Florida coast and among the West India islands. 



