The GREAT BLACK-HEADED GULL (_Chroicocephalus ichthyaëtus_) in its summer plumage has the entire head and upper neck black, the feathered orbits white, back and wing blue-grey, upper tail-covers and tail pure white, with a black band, primaries with a black band, increasing in width to the outermost one, which has the whole of the web black, the rest of the first five primaries white, the others grey, tipped with white; the other parts of the plumage are pure white; bill red, yellow at tip; irides brown; feet dull red; length about twenty-six inches; wing nineteen to twenty inches; tail seven inches; bill at front two inches and a quarter; tarsus three inches; the closed wing extends about one inch and a half beyond the tail. This bird inhabits Northern and Central Asia, and is rare in India. Jerdon observed it on the sea-coast at Madras, and occasionally ascending the Hooghly and other large rivers. It frequents the borders of the Caspian Sea. The eggs, which are oblong, and marked with deep brown and paler spots, are laid on the bare sand, near large rivers. When flying, the hoarse voice of this bird resembles that of the Rover. THE LESSER BLACK-HEADED GULL. The LESSER BLACK-HEADED GULL (_Chroicocephalus melanocephalus_) is about fifteen inches and a quarter in length. In this species the whole head, except a small patch of white above and beneath the eye, is of an extremely deep black; the back of neck, chest, tail, and all the under parts are pure white; the whole of the upper part, delicate pearl-grey; primaries, white at their tips, the outer web of the first primary black for three parts of its length; beak, legs, and eyelids vermilion, irides brown. This bird inhabits Southern Europe, particularly the shores of the Adriatic. It abounds in Dalmatia, breeding in the marshes. THE LITTLE GULL. The LITTLE GULL (_Chroicocephalus minuta_). In winter the entire upper surface of the adult's plumage is of a blueish ash; quills and secondaries tipped with white; throat and under surface pure white, with a slight tinge of rose-colour; bill brownish red; tarsi bright red; irides brown. In summer the whole of the head and upper part become of a brownish black. It is found, though not in great abundance, in the western part of Europe. This species inhabits the eastern parts of Russia, Livonia, and Hungary, and the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. It is rare in Great Britain, and was first described as a British bird by Montagu, in his "Ornithological Dictionary." According to Temminck, it feeds on worms and insects. Little, however, is known of its habits. * * * * *