BLACK-HEADED GULL.
In most inland districts frequented by this Gull (the Larus ridibundus of Linnæus) it is known as the “Peewit,” the “Peewit Gull,” or the “Laughing Gull.” It is not only one of the most widely distributed but one of the best known of our sea birds. And yet to describe the Black-headed Gull as a “sea” bird in the sense we have hitherto used the term is, to say the least, somewhat misleading. This species belongs to a small group which might more appropriately be termed “marsh” Gulls. It is almost as much seen in certain inland localities as it is in marine ones; whilst in many of its habits it bears a close resemblance to the Rook—feeding on the pastures, following the plough, and perching regularly in trees. During spring and summer many of these Gulls resort to inland haunts to breed—as for instance at Scoulton Mere in Norfolk, Twigmoor in Lincolnshire, and Aqualate Mere in Staffordshire—and from these centres visit the surrounding country for miles, in quest of food. Slob-lands and low muddy coasts are favourite haunts of this Gull, but during the non-breeding season it may be met with on almost all parts of the coast. In winter it often wanders up the larger tidal rivers for miles; and the Gulls that visited the Thames in such abundance during recent winters, were principally of this species, doubtless from Norfolk and Essex. Many of these Gulls appear to pass our southern coasts, especially in spring, and I have remarked them again in great plenty during the sprat season in late autumn. I may in addition state that this migration has been observed along the coast of South Devon, the nearest breeding station being near Poole in Dorset. The birds linger about Tor Bay in spring until, in many cases, the full breeding plumage—the sooty-brown head—is assumed.
Owing to the great diversity of its haunts the Black-headed Gull is almost omnivorous in its diet. Inland it feeds on grubs—especially wire-worms—insects, worms, fresh-water fish, and newly sown grain, as I have often ascertained by dissection; on the sea coast it subsists on fish, crustaceans, and various odds and ends obtained about harbours or vessels. It seeks its food both whilst swimming about the water, fluttering above it, or when walking on the shore. This Gull is much more Tern-like in its habits than the larger species we have already dealt with. Of its services to the agriculturist there can be no question; it is just as useful on the land as the Rook, without that bird’s few little pilfering ways.
The Black-headed Gull is an inland breeding species, and resorts to marshes, wet moors, and meres, at varying distances from the sea. Sometimes these breeding-places are in fairly well-timbered districts, and often surrounded by trees and bushes. This Gull, too, is remarkably gregarious during the breeding season, and some of its colonies are very extensive, consisting of many thousands of pairs. The “gulleries” are visited for nesting purposes in March or April, and as the birds return to the same spots year after year, they probably pair for life. Nesting begins in April. Most of the nests are made upon the ground in rush tufts, in hassocks of coarse grass and sedge, amongst reeds in shallow water, on masses of the previous year’s decayed aquatic vegetation, or on the flat, spongy, moss-covered ground. Odd nests are occasionally made in the trees and bushes, or even on boat-houses. Many of the nests can only be described as mere rounded hollows in the cushions of grass or sedge; the more elaborate structures are usually in the wettest situations, and these latter are often added to as incubation advances, either to replace the wear and tear from the incessant wash of the water, or to provide a sufficiently large platform on which the young may rest. The nests are made of bits of reed and rush, coarse grass, flags, and scraps of moss, lined with finer materials of similar description. The eggs of this Gull are usually three in number, sometimes four. They are subject to much variation, ranging from rich brown to pale bluish-green in ground colour, spotted, blotched, blurred, and streaked with several shades of brown and gray. Large numbers of these eggs are gathered for culinary purposes, the crop being systematically taken, and the birds always allowed eventually to sit upon their final clutch. Many of these eggs are passed off for those of the Peewit by unscrupulous dealers, notably in Leadenhall market. Few scenes in the bird world are prettier than a colony of Black-headed Gulls. When disturbed at their nests the birds rise in fluttering crowds, drifting noisily to and fro, anxious for the safety of their eggs or helpless young. As is the invariable rule with birds that continue to replace their taken eggs, but one brood is reared in the season.