60 BIRDS 



of tlie nests. The breeding birds did not manifest much 

 fear, as they were constantly flying around me and hov- 

 ering near my head. I repeatedly walked within a few 

 feet of a Gull, while it stood knee-deep in a brackish 

 little pool, complacently viewing the intruder. (Fig. 13.) 

 As I walked across the island hundreds of these birds 

 arose a few feet or yards in front of toe, circled and 

 dropped into the grass as soon as I passed. In numbers, 

 like those of a great grasshopper pestilence, they seemed 

 to spring from every blade of grass. Such a laughing 

 chorus one will rarely hear elsewhere. I could scarcely 

 hear my own voice, so loud and constant was the scream- 

 ing laughter about my head. This noise was truly a 

 great treat to the ears of an ornithologist. 



