Page:Cassell's book of birds (IA cassellsbookofbi04breh).pdf/224

 on the head, from white to dark brown, on the 11th of March; it was a change of colour, and not an act of moulting; no feather was shed, and the change was completed in five days."

The Laughing Gull is plentiful from 30° to 60° north latitude, and within this zone it rears its young. It is met with pretty nearly in equal numbers upon suitable inland waters in Europe, Asia, and America. In the South of Europe it is seen throughout the year; in Central Europe and Great Britain it is only a visitor, leaving us in October and November to take up its quarters upon the shores of the Mediterranean. It is, however, said to be a constant resident in Ireland.

(Chroicocephalus ridibundus).

When the snow begins to melt, these Gulls return, and in fine seasons arrive at their more northern terminus towards the end of March, or at the beginning of April. Before commencing their journey, the old birds have already selected their mates; they accompany their partners at once to the breeding-places, but the younger ones seem to defer their courtship till they arrive at their destination. They only live in the sea during the winter, and it is seldom that they breed even on islands near the coast. Fresh waters, surrounded by fields, are their favourite places of resort in the summer season, and here they find everything that they require. These birds are abundant at the mouth of the Thames, where they lay their eggs on the low flat islands and marshes of Essex. In Norfolk an extensive piece of water, called Scoulton Mere, has from time immemorial been one of their favourite breeding-places. The eggs, which are most abundant there about May, are assiduously collected, and are sometimes so plentiful that we are told a man and three boys have obtained 1,600 in a single day.

When swimming, these Gulls may be regarded as ornamental birds, more especially when they are in their full plumage. Their movements are extremely elegant and graceful, they walk quickly, and are not readily tired, and for hours together may be seen following the ploughman, or roaming about fields and meadows in search of insects. They swim beautifully, but not very rapidly. They rise readily into the air, either from the surface of the ground or from the water, and apparently