VOL. XIII.] COMMON GULL AT DUNGENESS. 305 



their demeanour entirely altered: they knew I was inside 

 and would not forget it. They became at once bold, noisy 

 and aggressive, circling round close overhead with loud 

 shrieks and constantly swooping down at the tent. The 

 day was excessively hot, and the Terns unusually restless 

 and noisy ; they sat on their eggs for only a few minutes 

 at a time and there were constant aerial combats between 

 them and the Gulls. The latter only settled on the beach 



COMMON GULL ON THE NEST, DUNGENESS, KENT, JUNE II, IQIQ. 



" Panting with the heat." 

 {Photographed by N. F. Ticehurst.) 



for brief periods of rest and never nearer than twenty j^ards 

 from the nest. 



Profiting by this experience I returned on the next day to 

 the third nest accompanied by my wife, who, after tying me 

 up in my tent, walked away a considerable distance and 

 sat down under cover. The ruse proved successful, the birds 

 remained circling high overhead and quite silent. After 

 twenty minutes one of them went off and settled at a distance. 

 At the end of three-quarters of an hour the other settled twice 

 for a few minutes fifty yards away. Fifteen minutes later 

 she settled once more, this time within twenty yards, and 



