110 THE OENITHOLOGIST. 



when in flock, the rear portion alternately comes to the front, 

 and in this way each bird partakes equally of what the tide 

 lays bare. 



On June 4th, I made an expedition to the Hoppen " Petts '* 

 for the purpose of inspecting the colony of Black-headed Gulls. 

 These "petts," which lie about four miles south-east of Lydd, 

 consist of two large pieces of water of unknown depth. They 

 are, furthermore fringed with treacherous reed beds, which 

 possess all the qualities of a dangerous bog. They are also 

 the home of many leeches. When within a mile of these 

 "petts," I could discern numbers of Black-headed Gulls lining 

 the banks, and looking like so many lumps of white chalk. 

 On a nearer approach, they all rose up, full of clamorous 

 consternation — a veritable sea-rookery, and circled above the 

 water. They numbered about 200, and at least a quarter of 

 these wore the dress of immaturity. I discovered over twenty 

 nests, all containing eggs, with the exception of two, which 

 had young. These nests were invariably placed close to 

 the edge of reed bed nearest the water. On one small reedy 

 promontory there were no less than eight, situated hardly a 

 yard apart. Of late years, this colony of Gulls has suffered 

 much persecution, but the owner — Mr. Samson, of Lydd — 

 exercises now a strict surveillance over it, with the result that 

 the colony is rallying. 



On June 12th, a Spoonbill appeared near the Midrips. Its 

 appearance created considerable excitement amongst several of 

 the fisher folks. I have the following records of the occurrence 

 of the Spoonbill in this locality. Two adult males were shot, 

 May 9th, 1889, by two of the Southerden family. One of these 

 specimens was subsequently sold to Mr. Gray, of Dover, for 

 £7. In June, 1890, a party of five appeared, but, to use the 

 words of the fishermen, " we were too greedy, we wanted the 

 ' blooming ' lot and ended by getting none." On May 24th, 1891, 

 an immature bird was obtained. There is also another speci- 

 men, still in the possession of the Southerdens, shot some 

 twenty years ago. This is a very perfect one. The broad 

 suffused rust-coloured ring at the base of the neck is remark- 

 able for its intensity. The above records will show that these 

 visits have become fewer and farther between of late years. 



