SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



summer. Their cries are generally deeper 

 than those of the herring gull and wonderfully 

 varied and expressive. This is particularly 

 the case during the breeding season on their 

 home grounds. On the Labrador coast I have 

 listened many times to these splendid birds, 

 whose voices seemed almost human as they 

 suggested anger, grief or derision. They often 

 spoke in low conversational tones to each 

 other as they sailed by, and at other times 

 they scolded in no uncertain manner. I re- 

 member watching a pair of them eating a fish; 

 their manners were extremely good; they ate 

 in turns, never interfered greedily, and never 

 quarreled. Saddle-backs are apt to be tyran- 

 nical, however, and chase and harry other 

 gulls. 



It is indeed a red-letter day for the orni- 

 thologist when he sees a glaucous or burgo- 

 master gull, or an Iceland gull on this coast. 

 These two species, denizens of the north, can 

 be distinguished on close scrutiny from the 

 herring gull by the absence of black tips to 

 the white wings. The glaucous gull is slightly 

 larger, the Iceland gull slightly smaller than 

 the herring gull. Both have a mantle of slaty 

 blue covering their backs when adult, but the 



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