The Bird Book 



the water, while some settled on some small trees 

 in the immediate neighbourhood. 



Scoulton Mere, in Norfolk, is one of the 

 most famous of its haunts, for thousands of 

 birds nest there annually, and are said to have 

 done so for upwards of three hundred years. The 

 nests are usually placed on the ground, in some 

 tuft of grass or rushes, but sometimes they are 

 mere floating rafts carelessly anchored among the 

 reeds. Two or three eggs are laid, which vary 

 considerably, the most typical being those of a 

 dark olive ground colour, spotted and blotched 

 with black or brown. 



The name Black-headed Gull is misleading, for 

 the colouring of the head and part of the throat is 

 a decided brown, and this is only worn during the 

 summer. The spring moult takes place about the 

 beginning of March and in August the brown 

 feathers on the head are gradually replaced by 

 white, till only a little patch of grey by the ear is 

 left. It is a dangerous thing to lay down hard 

 and fast rules for the feathered world, and to this, 

 as to almost every other, there are exceptions, for 

 on January nth of the present year I saw amongst 

 a large flock of these Gulls two individuals which 

 either had not lost, or had even then regained, their 

 summer plumage. Apart from the head, the 

 plumage is pearly grey above and white beneath. 



But besides the Gulls and Grebes, Broad- 

 land is rich in bird life. Numbers of Coot 

 82 



