I^O J. A. JACKSON: NOTES ON THE BLACK-HEADED GULL. 



young, which they do in thousands at a place near Cockerham, 

 known for miles around as the ' Gull Moss,' of which, possibly, a 

 short account may be of interest. I may state here that for many 

 years, at least fifteen, a large number of these birds bred regularly 

 in a small tarn on the hills above Scorton. The expanse of water 

 was not large, and the nests were made on the islands and around 

 the edges of the tarn. Latterly, the number has grown less every 

 year, and last summer I could only see a single pair frequenting this 

 tarn during the breeding season. I am unable to account for this 

 decrease unless the colony near Cockerham has a more advantageous 

 situation in some way, and the birds have migrated thither, perhaps, 

 because it is some four miles nearer the shore. It is a rather striking- 

 fact that although this small tarn will be some 500 feet above the sea- 

 level, the ground on one side of it is of a mossy character, and has 

 growing on it ling, heath, and cranberry, just the same as are to be 

 found on the ' Gull Moss.' I have also taken the moth Cdrsia iinbntata 

 there. The * Gull Moss ' is situated some three miles from the coast, 

 and the ground is very similar in character to Woolston Moss near 

 Warrington. There is still a large patch of the moss uncultivated, 

 although a certain breadth is brought under the plough each year ; 

 the horses used in the fields wearing wide boards on their feet to 

 prevent them sinking in the soft soil. However, as the Gulls are now 

 well looked after and preserved by the land-owners during the breeding 

 season, no doubt enough space will be left for them to breed on. 



When approaching the moss, the most noticeable feature is the 

 liatness of the country, the fields being divided from each other 

 by deep dykes or ditches, in place of walls or hedges. As we pro- 

 ceed we pass long rows of turf or peat piled up to dry, after being 

 cut for fuel, and round stacks of it are to be seen scattered about. 

 As we get on to the real wild moss, we find (unless the weather has 

 been very dry for a long time) that water soon flows into each of our 

 footsteps, as from a wet sponge. On this part of the moss flourish 

 the Round- and Oblong-leaved Sundews, also Cranberry, the beautiful 

 Andromeda, and Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale, which has such a strong 

 scent when crushed in the hand, or when you walk through a clump 

 of it. Ling covers most of the dryer parts of the moss, and the two 

 common Heaths are plentiful. Often, too, if we walk far across the 

 moss, a Viper may be seen neatly coiled round ; but they usually make 

 ofl" as fast as possible. 



On the moss also, the following Butterflies and Moths are to be 

 seen — Satyr us iitkonus, Chortobius davis^ Anarta myrtilli^ Chelonia 

 plantagints, Carsia imbufata^ Hyria auroraria, Crambus margarifeHus, 

 besides a host of other common species, both large and small. 



Naturalist, 



