196 



CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



on the head, from white to dark brown, on the nth of March ; it was a change of colour, and not an 

 act of moulting ; no feather was shed, and the change was completed in five days." 



The Laughing Gull is plentiful from 30 to 6o° north latitude, and within this zone it rears its 

 young. It is met with pretty nearly in equal numbers upon suitable inland waters in Europe, Asia, 

 and America. In the South of Europe it is seen throughout the year ; in Central Europe and Great 

 Britain it is only a visitor, leaving us in October and November to take up its quarters upon the 

 shores of the Mediterranean. It is, however, said to be a constant resident in Ireland. 



When the snow begins to melt, these Gulls return, and in fine seasons arrive at their more 

 northern terminus towards the end of March, or at the beginning of April. Before commencing their 



THE LAUGHING GULL (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). 



journey, the old birds have already selected their mates; they accompany their partners at once to 

 the breeding-places, but the younger ones seem to defer their courtship till they arrive at their destina- 

 tion. They only live in the sea during the winter, and it is seldom that they breed even on islands 

 near the coast. Fresh waters, surrounded by fields, are their favourite places of resort in the summer 

 season, and here they find everything that they require. These birds are abundant at the mouth of 

 the Thames, where they lay their eggs on the low flat islands and marshes of Essex. In Norfolk an 

 extensive piece of water, called Scoulton Mere, has from time immemorial been one of their favourite 

 breeding-places. The eggs, which are most abundant there about May, are assiduously collected, and 

 are sometimes so plentiful that we are told a man and three boys have obtained 1,600 in a single day. 

 When swimming, these Gulls may be regarded as ornamental birds, more especially when they 

 are in their full plumage. Their movements are extremely elegant and graceful, they walk quickly, 

 and are not readily tired, and for hours together may be seen following the ploughman, or roaming 

 about fields and meadows in search of insects. They swim beautifully, but not very rapidly. They 

 rise readily into the air, either from the surface of the ground or from the water, and apparently 



