to resort to the same place for some time, the old ©mes wpre
too shy to be procured! p W'e also saw two - others'* near
Hastings in Sussex. They may. be easfly known from the
Black-headed Gull even whem flying ; the flights®-different*
the Jjird appears, m-neh-larger^,- -and the tail sho-nter in proportion.”
N ^ojher. ex am p lesp |a^p in this ^ c o u n ty baffe
d)een recorded, that aware, p f; > hut Mr.~Gould me u Life iis
that the preservation of "Montagu’s ^specimen to p i c British
Museum has afforded him the means "ofodetermtotog? that a t
is identical,withjthe Amerjeantoird.
The following account of t^|habits^©f this^GulLinithe
United. States^ is d é riv é from the Orrtohotogj^ljBiogtophy
of Mr. Audubon :—
“ This species “breeds^ according. from Life
1st of March to the .middlSlf Jui|ff; and' I have' th@S®ht
that on the ^i’ortnga Keys, it produced’ .f\\© broods each season.
Tn New Jersey, and farther-hfa); the'eastward,-t-lie%n*.>t
resembles_that- of., the Ring-billed vÇru}l, 3 GnmwhikAm'e-
rican Gull, -Lar-us zonôrhynclms, formed ofgpiedpseajweeds,_
and land plants, .two, >an^^p#tinà;ès three*, in’hfeësiiigh,
with -a regular rounded, cavity,- frbhn femv-jfpuhèi hailftotffiutjk
inches, in diameter,^and an inch and a hal%jn I®ph^- - This,
cavity_is formed of - finer^.grasses4|pke^d^w%-fl^ p s tty h ^ ^ la r
circular form. I onc^ pundL a as it ^ ^ S p f
two; that toy. to. say, two pairs had,fformed' a ngasfehf nearly
double the^prdinary afti^hé tw ^ b ird a -s a tie |S to teach
other during, rainy weather, but separately^each: on- its sown
three eggs; I observed that the malj^ ass well; as t?he; females,
thus concerned in this m'eWi sort of partnership evinced'
as much mutual- fondn,es|^s if ihé'ÿ were .brothers.^ Ouvi ^
Tortugas, where these Gulls . also-.breed, in abundance;!1. T
found their eggs , deposited in slight hollows scooped in the!
sand. Whilst at Galveston, in Texas,-1 founds their nests
somewhat less bulky than in the Jerseys, which proved "to me
how msùilîtï birds are guided in these matters by differences in
atmospheric: .temperature and locality.
“ "Whilst at Great Egg Harbour, in May 1829, shortly
after rnay^return from England, I found this species breeding
ingre^t,-numbers on the margins of a vast salt marsh, border-
iag^thé feea>itih©r©,’ /though separated from-the Atlantic by a
.long ffs^d narrow i|$a©db They constantly evinced a dislike
^/roék^sjttôres*. About sunrise every morning, an immense
number of toîtoSe* birds would rise-in‘the air, as if by common
flîfSfpfè and :Wi#g&;their way across the land, probably intent
on reaching- tfe lower^ibfos of th e .D é lab re River, or in-
dee(^farther’ towards the head waters« of Chesapeake Bay.
’Theypormed themselves toto long,-straggling lines, following
each, other singly^at the distance of a few yards. . About an
shop]before sunshpthe'satoe birds were: seen retiirntoe’ in an
^tohd,e#^%|nt, mow all #l^t,¥ although in the morning their
crises, we,retind.esmp||.and -lasted till -jthfey were out of sight.
On am 4 in ^ f 4 p , bméding-ground, they immediately settled
upon#h,eirbffltfIp Oh a few o c rio n s, when it rained and
bléyç hard, the numbers ' that -left the nests were' compara-
^and fjtfpp; as I thought, mostly males. Instead
©f traveEing^high, as they were wont to -do in fair and calm
weather, they-, skink&ted .fik*S3y over the land, contending
with ‘the. wind with surprising pertinacity-, and successfully
-Jap* -At such times; they-were also quite silent. I now and
then iffeserved some1 of them whilst; on wing, and at a considerable
height, suddenly ' check their course, as if to exam
to tospme object below; but on none of these occasions
did K sfeè. one attempt alight, for it soon resumed its
WOB'ted course, and rejoined its companions.
“ I never found more than three eggs in a nest. Their
aybrage. length is two inches and half an eighth, their greatest
breadth a trifler more than an inch and a half. They vary
somewhat in their general tint, but are usually of a light