find him, and there he fights for his meals with the Herring Gull, the
Common Gull, the Kittiwake and others.

Really we should call this gull the Brown-headed, not the Black-headed,
Gull; for the hood is more brown than black; and again, if you look for
this bird during your summer holidays, you will see no dark hood on his
head. You might, though, know him then by the red legs and bill, and the
white front-edging to his lovely pearly-grey wings.

Look at him in January, however, and you see dark feathers beginning to
appear on his head. The fact is, this dark hood is the bird's wedding
dress. It comes only when the nesting season draws near. Then he leaves
the fields, parks, and rivers, to fly away to the nesting-place.

These Gulls love to nest in colonies--that is, near one another. Among
rushes and reeds, and rough grass growing in deep wet mud, they feel
that their nests are safe. There they lay three eggs. The chicks, almost
as soon as they leave the eggs, can run about. If there is no dry land
near the nest, these youngsters tumble in the water and swim without
bothering about swimming lessons.

In summer they are ready to fly with their parents round the coast, and
to the muddy mouths of large rivers, where they feed. Flocks of them are
also seen out in the open sea, feeding on the shoals of small fish. They
also follow steamers, for the sake of any scraps thrown overboard, and
they crowd round the fishing boats when they are being unloaded. You
see, they are _scavengers_, and so are to be found wherever there are
waste scraps of food.

Perhaps you have noticed that Gulls float high in the sea, like so many