2880 Birds. 



either in the first or second week in August, I saw, by the aid of a telescope, from the 

 windows of Malham-Water House, a brood of eight or nine, of what I have no doubt 

 were young tufted ducks, swimming on the lake of Malham Water, which is of consi- 

 derable extent, in a very wild part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, at an elevation 

 of nearly 1300 feet above the level of the sea. The telescope was of sufficient power, 

 not only to exhibit the contrast of white and black in the plumage of the old male 

 bird, but also to show with perfect distinctness tbe tuft upon its head, and there was 

 only one of the nnmber that I observed to be furnished with that appendage. I 

 drew the attention of other persons in the room with me to the circumstance of my 

 being able to distinguish the tuft, though not at the time aware that the fact of this 

 duck breeding wild in this country was of such rare occurrence. There is on part of 

 the western side of Malham Water an extensive moss, or peat bog, to which the 

 birds in question made their way, after remaining for some time under my observa- 

 tion, and on this tract of waste ground, not only the common wild duck, but also the 

 teal, breeds constantly every year. — Robert Bryan Cooke ; Wheldrake Rectory, York, 

 July 12, 1850. 



Masked Gull (Larus capistratus) in the Mediterranean. — I have just read in your 

 Journal (Zool. 2776) Mr. Bury's remarks on some observations on Gulls at Gibraltar, 

 which I sent to you some months since (See Zool. 2655). I cannot help thinking, that, 

 whether he intended to be so or not, he has been somewhat captious. He has put a con- 

 struction on my words, which they were never intended to bear. Mr. Bury published 

 in the ' Zoologist ' (Zool. 2457) the result of his observations at Malaga : I never for a 

 moment doubted his correctness, but in common with, I dare say, many others, felt 

 obliged to that gentleman for having directed attention to the occurrence of the 

 masked gull in the Mediterranean. Having spent a short time at Gibraltar, I like- 

 wise sent you what I believed to be the result of my observations, not for the purpose 

 of opposing Mr. Bury's views, but merely as some additional information connected 

 with the subject. 1 never had the smallest intention of attempting to disprove the 

 occurrence of the Larus capistratus in the Mediterranean, but merely stated that at a 

 certain time I had seen the L. ridibundus at Gibraltar : I did not even assert that 

 the former species did not occur there, but said, that I had not observed it. And on 

 the strength of these remarks, Mr. Bury now gives me credit for want of information, 

 and for advancing absurd ideas, in a manner which is, I think, scarcely fair. Tf Mr. 

 Bury did not suppose that' I had any intention of calling in question either his ve- 

 racity, or his accuracy of observation, why did he ever mention these subjects ? If he 

 intended to doubt my accuracy of observation, which I presume he does, could he not 

 have done so in more gentle terms ; and at the same time avoided pointing out to me, 

 as he has done, what I ought to have known, or obscurely hinting at not over creditable 

 motives ? I still feel convinced that the birds which I saw at Gibraltar were black- 

 headed gulls ; they were frequently within four or five yards of me, and on one occa- 

 sion I had an opportunity of examining one which alighted on the surface close to a 

 boat in which I was, and this one was within two yards of me. My acquaintance with 

 this bird is not the result of one or two casual visits to the shores of Britain, or an oc- 

 casional summer trip to the sea-coast, but from having spent a considerable portion of 

 my life in a part of Britain, which equalled by few, is excelled by none, in the advan- 

 tages it offers for ornithological pursuits, and especially the study of marine birds. I 

 trust that on this occasion I have made myself perfectly intelligible, and that my 

 present remarks cannot be construed in an anti-masked gull sense, or be looked on as 



