224 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



single bird, which would be very quiet in its behaviour, and as 

 soon as things seemed safe would quickly commence its stealthy 

 run towards its treasures. 



The small colony of Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus), 

 which nest in some pieces of water in the centre of the beach 

 at Dungeness, is not thriving. There only seemed to be a very 

 few pairs breeding in the biggest of these ponds amongst 

 some rushes safely out of reach of anyone without a boat. 

 There can be no doubt that the birds are much persecuted. 

 I came across another colony of these birds some miles inland 

 in a reedy swamp. Unfortunately the birds here seemed to be 

 having quite as bad a time as those on the beach. The nests 

 were built in some coarse swamp grass growing in about two feet 

 of water. The fabric of the nest seemed to be started from the 

 ground, the foundation being formed of coarse sedges, and built 

 up to from three to six inches above the level of the water, the 

 cup of the nest being finished off with the finer tops of the reeds. 

 There were thirty nests in this colony, of which only ten con- 

 tained any eggs. The previous day had been a Sundaj% but had 

 not, I think, been a day of rest for the Gulls. There were three 

 Coots' (Fulica atra) nests amongst those of the Gulls, and several 

 nests of the Little Grebe (Podicipes fluviatilis) in the ditches on 

 the edge of the same swamp. 



It remains to be mentioned that I saw the following birds 

 on this occasion, which I did not notice in 1900 : — Whinchat 

 (Pratincola rubetra), a pair on the marsh-land ; House-Martin 

 (Chelidon urbica) ; Sand-Martin (Cotile riparia) ; Jackdaw (Cor- 

 vus monedula) , a thriving colony in the ruins of Camber Castle ; 

 Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), frequently heard and seen on the 

 marsh-land; and Grey Plover (Squatarola helvetica), a pair on the 

 beach evidently on migration. The Common Curlew (Numenius 

 arquata) was less numerous, and the Whimbrel (N. phceopus) was 

 more numerous than in 1900. 



