4 I5LACK-IIEADED GULL. 
and tlie numbers to be observed in company along tbe coast-line in summer render it probable, however, that 
they do not reach maturity till three or possibly four years old. 
There is little doubt that the two birds shot at Canty Bay in East Lothian in August 1874, and depicted 
on Plate I., represent the plumage of the first and second autumn. The colours of the soft parts of these two 
specimens were as follows: — “The upper and lower mandibles of the juvenile were flesh-tinted with a black 
point on the upper ; legs and feet a pale livid flesh-colour. Both mandibles of the older bird were red, with a 
black point on the upper, and a light red circle round the iris. The legs and feet were also of the same tint of 
red as the mandibles. 
The adult figured on Plate II. flew rapidly past my gunning-punt on the 18th of January 1881, about half 
a mile at sea in the Channel off Lancing, in West Sussex, and his striking appearance having attracted my 
attention, he was knocked down by tbe shoulder-gun. This strangely marked bird exhibits the singular manner 
in which the change from white to black on the head is occasionally effected. The upper and lower mandibles 
were a dark purple tint, with a tinge of crimson-lake near the base; the circle round the eye was very 
conspicuous and of a bright mulberry hue. The legs and feet showed a colouring of dark purple. 
