260 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiv. 



mountain range. Red, green and purple are the prevailing 

 hues in the plumage of the gigantic Ruff. 



I found at the British Museum another translation (Press 

 Mark 1750 C. i (zy) ) of this quaint old English pamphlet. 

 This is a broad sheet (undated) published at Nurnberg. The 

 woodcut of the Ruff is almost identical to that in the English 

 edition, but it, too, has been somewhat gaudily coloured by 

 hand. The translation is much nearer to the original than 

 the Augsburg edition. 



Mr. Mullens, in his article above referred to, states that the 

 English pamphlet at the time of its publication " must have 

 attracted considerable attention and have achie\'ed a some- 

 what extensive circulation " ; it is certainly very remarkable 

 that translations should have been immediately published at 

 Middelburg, Augsburg and Nurnberg. 



As regards the meaning of the word Calcars ; reference to 

 the Ncc£) English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Vol. II., 

 1893), shows that Calcar=Calker= Astrologer, so that there 

 need be no further speculation as to this ; curiously enough, 

 this interpretation is corroborated by the fact that the word 

 Calcars, in the Nurnberg edition, is translated !§tcin0Chcrn = 

 Star-gazers. 



It may be worth noting that the late Professor Newton 

 pointed out that though the frill, or " ruff," of the male bird 

 has been compared with that of Elizabethan or Jacobean 

 costume it is, however, essentially different, since that was 

 open in front and widest and most projecting behind, whereas 

 the bird's decorative apparel is most developed in front and 

 at the sides and scarcely exists behind. The Professor was 

 uncertain whether the bird was named from the frill or the 

 frill from the bird. (Newton : A Dictionary of Birds (1893-6), 

 p. 798). Hugh S. Gladstone. 



PARASITISM OF BLACK-HEADED GULLS. 

 The Tufted Duck {Nyroca fidigula) on a large reservoir near 

 London feed at fairly regular hours during the day-time, 

 and as soon as they begin parties of Black-headed Gulls 

 [Larus ridibundus) at once resort to it. They have established 

 a definite parasitic relationship with the duck, and this is the 

 method. A bird dives and a Gull (sometimes a pair) at 

 once flies over to its neighbourhood and settles on the water. 

 As soon as the duck reappears, the Gull flies up from the 

 water, hovers a yard or so above the duck's head, and then 

 (quite gently) drops down upon it. The duck dives again, 

 and nine times out of ten drops the food, the Gull half sub- 

 merging to recover it before it sinks. What the ducks were 



