LAUGHING GULL. 255 



insects and their larvae, which, in the vernal season, the bounty 

 of Nature provides for the sustenance of myriads of the feathered 

 race. 



On the Jersey side of the Delaware bay, in the neighbourhood 

 of Fishing-creek, about the middle of May, the Black-headed 

 Gulls assemble in great multitudes, to feed upon the remains of 

 the King Crabs, which the hogs have left, or upon the spawn, 

 which those curious animals deposite in the sand, and which is 

 scattered along the shore by the waves. At such times, if any 

 one approach to disturb them, the Gulls will rise up in clouds, 

 every individual squalling so loud, that the roar may be heard 

 at the distance of two or three miles. 



It is an interesting spectacle to behold this species when about 

 recommencing their migrations. If the weather be calm, they 

 will rise up in the air, spirally, chattering all the while to each 

 other, in the most sprightly manner, their notes, at such times, 

 resembling the singing of a hen, but far louder, changing often 

 into a haw, ha ha ha haw! the last syllable lengthened out like 

 the excessive laugh of a negro. When mounting and mingling 

 together, like motes in the sunbeams, their black heads and wing 

 tips, and snow-white plumage, give them a very beautiful ap- 

 pearance. After gaining an immense height, they all move off, 

 with one consent, in a direct line towards the point of their 

 destination. 



This bird breeds in the marshes. The eggs are three in num- 

 ber, of a dun clay colour, thinly marked with small irregular 

 touches of a pale purple, and pale brown; some are of a deeper 

 dun, with larger marks, and less tapering than others; the egg 

 measures two inches and a quarter by one inch and a half. 



The Black-heads frequently penetrate into the interior, espe- 

 cially as far as Philadelphia; but they seem to prefer the neigh- 

 bourhood of the coast, for the purpose of breeding. They retire 

 southward early in the autumn.* 



* From Mr. Ord's supplementary volume. 



