40 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



masses of the previous year's decayed aquatic 

 vegetation, or on the flat, spongy, moss-covered 

 ground. Odd nests are occasionally made in the 

 trees and bushes, or even on boat-houses. Many 

 of the nests can only be described as mere rounded 

 hollows in the cushions of grass or sedge; the more 

 elaborate structures are usually in the wettest 

 situations, and these latter are often added to as 

 incubation advances, either to replace the wear and 

 tear from the incessant wash of the water, or to 

 provide a sufficiently large platform on which the 

 young may rest. The nests are made of bits of 

 reed and rush, coarse grass, flags, and scraps of 

 moss, lined with finer materials of similar descrip- 

 tion. The eggs of this Gull are usually three in 

 number, sometimes four. They are subject to much 

 variation, ranging from rich brown to pale bluish- 

 green in ground colour, spotted, blotched, blurred, 

 and streaked with several shades of brown and 

 gray. Large numbers of these eggs are gathered 

 for culinary purposes, the crop being systematically 

 taken, and the birds always allowed eventually to 

 sit upon their final clutch. Many of these eggs are 

 passed off for those of the Peewit by unscrupulous 

 dealers, notably in Leadenhall market. Few scenes 

 in the bird world are prettier than a colony of 

 Black-headed Gulls. When disturbed at their nests 

 the birds rise in fluttering crowds, drifting noisily to 

 and fro, anxious for the safety of their eggs or 

 helpless young. As is the invariable rule with 



