414 



ing the envied tit-bit, too cumbersome for the smaller birds 

 to secure. 



Food. Like other Gulls, this species will eat almost 

 anything. It paces the sea-shore and shallow channels 

 for small fishes, crabs, shrimps, and shell-fish, and has 

 a most interesting habit (which seems to have been over- 

 looked by most observers) 'pool dancing," if one might adopt 

 the term. It is this : a Black-headed Gull wades into a 

 little pool, the water of which is only deep enough to cover 

 part of its feet ; it then lowers its head and looks at the 

 bottom. Finding no food, it at once commences to prance 

 up and down on the sandy floor, stirring up the sediment 

 out of which it picks various marine creatures and frag- 

 ments of seaweeds. I have seen many of these birds at 

 this performance along the mud-flats of Dublin Bay, and 

 have also noticed parties pattering along the dry sands 

 in pursuit of sand-hoppers, or snapping at flies as they 

 swarmed on decaying animal or vegetable matter. Eeference 

 has already been made as to the manner in which floating 

 refuse is greedily snatched up. Away from the tide, beetles, 

 worms, and grubs, are consumed : in the dusk of a summer's 

 evening a novice might mistake this Gull for a Barn-Owl, 

 as he watched it hawking for cock-chafers and moths over 

 corn-fields and ditches with rapid and twisting flight. In 

 hard weather Lapwings are often troubled by this species, 

 as it pursues and bullies them to such an extent that they 

 are obliged to forfeit their hard-sought-for worms. In 

 captivity Black-headed Gulls are practically omnivorous. 

 One, of which I made a great pet, and had for many years, 

 used to swallow small mice entire, and such diet was greatly 

 relished. 



Voice. The term ' Laughing Gull ' has been applied to 

 this species on account of its peculiar voice, which is 

 supposed to resemble a laugh. Of this it is a very feeble 

 mimicry, if at all. There is nothing bright or merry about 

 the sound ; it is irritably harsh and scolding. If the com- 

 parisons are at all befitting, the cry may be likened to that 

 of a cross-tempered two-years-old child, who passionately 

 ejaculates with wide open mouth, the syllables yddh-hda, 

 yddh-hd, yddh-wdw. The immature birds l which assemble 



1 It is interesting to note that when the young first come down to the 

 tide towards the end of June and during July, the full clutch of two 

 or three birds seldom accompany the parents on the wing. I have 



