lOIO 



THE NATURE BOOK 



nothing at all ; and at others it is quite 

 an elaborate structure, dead sticks and 

 twigs, sprays of heather and furze being 

 utilised as well as grasses. Much depends 

 upon the situation chosen. If the reeds 

 are thick, little nest is required to keep 

 the eggs clear of the water ; but in others 

 a quantity may be necessary. I have 

 found the nests placed on the ground at 

 some distance from the water. The birds 

 nest in close proximity, the small reedy 

 islets dotted about the ponds being the 

 most used. On one such islet only about 

 eight feet in length and four feet in width, 

 I saw no fewer than twenty-one nests this 

 season. The eggs, two to three in number, 

 are subject to great variation not only 

 in regard to colour, but also size and 

 shape. Some are pear-shaped, like the 

 plover's ; others rounded like a pigeon's. 

 The average size is two inches by one and 

 five-eighths. The ground colour may be 

 anything from pale bluish green to amber 

 brown, spotted and blotched with dark 

 grey and blackish brown. In some cases 

 the markings form a distinct ring round 

 the larger end, and in others are quite 

 evenly distributed. On odd occasions 

 pale blue eggs without any markings 



may be found, and I have seen a clutch 

 the same ground colour covered with fine 

 light brown spots. One of the three eggs 

 is generally different from the remaining 

 two. 



Sometimes four eggs may be discovered 

 in a nest, but this is not at all usual, and 

 generally is the result of two birds laying 

 in the nest. However, they have been 

 found where the close similarity of the 

 four eggs left no doubt that they were 

 the product of one bird. 



The young are clothed in a down of 

 yellowish buff and brown, and take to 

 the water when quite young. Their first 

 feathers begin to appear when about three 

 weeks old, but the youngsters are unable 

 to ily until about a month later. When 

 fledged their plumage contains a good 

 deal of brown, but not so much as in the 

 case of the young of other Gulls. It is 

 interesting to note that the Gulls endeavour 

 to knock their young into the water during 

 their first attempts at flight, doubtless 

 because of their thinking the young birds 

 are at such times scarcely strong enough 

 to undertake aerial navigation success- 

 fully. 



\Vith strangers the birds are very shy. 







YOUNG BLACK-HEADED GULLS. 



