The Zoologist — September, 1866. 365 



wings are cleverly bit off' and discarded, the gull never alighting. 

 This habit links them closely to the marsh terns. "As a difference of 

 opinion exists," says Thompson, "about certain species of birds eating 

 slugs, or shell-less snails, on the lOlh of August, 1833, I tried four 

 young blackheaded gulls with different species of them; the small 

 yellowish one {Limax agrestis), the young of the speckled {L. maxi- 

 mus), and the small blackish one with orange belly {Arion hortensis). 

 These were off"ered to the gulls after their usual daily time of being fed 

 was past, and when they were extremely vociferous for food. On the 

 slugs being presented they all four dashed open-billed upon them, and 

 picked up a slug each, which was no sooner done than they one and 

 all flung them violently away with evident disgust: Some of them 

 returned a second time to the charge, and again picked up a slug, but 

 this was as rapidly expelled as at first." 



Flighty Swimming, Resting. — The flight, as I stated before, is very 

 like that of some of the terns, with a strong blending of that of the 

 gull: it is extremely lasting and very buoyant; the direct sailings, 

 however, are unlike the true gulls, being short, though the power of 

 turning and twisting without beating the wings is surprising, a bird 

 often appearing as if mortally wounded, by throwing itself from side to 

 side, and if accustomed to be fired at will do so while you are pre- 

 senting the gun : these eccentric flights may be seen without any assign- 

 able cause. When taking their food from the water the legs dangle in it, 

 and the piece is seized in the tip of the bill. Their most graceful 

 evolutions in taking food are called forth should it be a rapid stream, 

 one bird vieing with another for a scrap. Should the piece be too 

 large to swallow, it will alight on the water and shake it into shape. 

 The flight of a colony of these birds when disturbed from their nests 

 is truly marvellous, and so intricate are the windings that it is past 

 description, for to follow one bird would be impossible. Strange aerial 

 flights, too, I have seen before bad weather in winter, and have watched 

 birds till totally lost to view, so high have they ascended. They swim 

 like the other gulls with a jerking motion, the breast deepest, the tail 

 elevated and the head gracefully curved or crouched. In rising they 

 make no seeming effort, except opening the wings. They seldom, 

 when on sea, alight anywhere but in the water. When inland they 

 alight freely, and I have even seen them standing on a railing, but the 

 feet not closed. When standing, the head is generally carried 

 crouched. 



Cry. — The cry is very various, and as I have endeavoured to word 



