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BIRDS OF AMERICA 



GULLS 



Order Loiigipcimcs; family Laridcr; subfamily Lariucc 



IHE Gulls comprise the subfamily Larincc of the Gull and Tern family (Laridcs) 

 which is part of the order of long-winged swimmers iLoigipcuucs). There 

 are about fifty species of Gulls, some of which are often found far inland, but 

 most of which show an especial fondness for the seacoasts and their immediate 

 vicinity. As a rule they are larger than their allies, the Terns, from whom 

 they differ also in generally having almost square tails, though there are 

 exceptions to this rule in the form of Terns with nearly square tails and of 

 Gulls with tails which are more or less forked. An invariable difference, 

 however, is in the structure of the upper bill, which is ridged and hooked at 

 the end in Gulls and virtually straight in Terns. When hunting food, Gulls 

 usually fly with their bill nearly on a line with the body, while Terns carry 

 theirs pointed downward. Again, the Gulls alight freely on the water to feed, whereas 

 the Terns hover and plunge for their food. 



The Gulls show considerable variation in color, and some seasonal changes in plumage 

 which have caused confusion in identifying species. " The predominating color of the adult 

 birds," says Stejneger, " is white with a gray mantle, varying in shade from the most delicate 

 pearl-gray to dark blackish-slate or nearly black, and the head is often more or less marked 

 with black in summer. The seasonal change is not great, and affects chiefly the color of the 

 head, which, in species with black heads, turns white in winter, while the White-headed 

 Gulls usually get that part streaked with dark during the same season." 



All of the species are web-footed and swim readily; they show little skill in diving, how- 

 ever, and the living fish they prey upon are chiefly the kind which come near the surface 

 of the water, like the herring. On the wing they show perfect ease, and remarkable quick- 

 ness and cleverness in their maneuvering, especially in the wind. It is certain, too, that 

 they are capable of very long flights. 



Gulls are markedly gregarious, and this instinct is especially in evidence during the 

 breeding season, when several species may congregate on favorite nesting ledges to the 

 number of thousands, if not millions. Their nests are composed usually of seaweeds and 

 moss, and the eggs, usually no more than two or three, range in color from bluish-white 

 to brownish, with blotches and spots of black, brown, or purplish. 



Flocks of Gulls resting lightly on the waters of our harbors or following the wake of 

 water craft are a familiar sight, but not every observer of the graceful motions of the birds 

 is aware of the fact that Gulls are the original " white- wings." As sea scavengers they 

 welcome as food dead fish, garbage, and offal of various sorts, and their services in cleaning up 

 such material are not to be regarded lightly. It will surprise many to learn that certain 

 Gulls render important inland service, especially to agriculture. At least one species, the 

 California Gull, is extremely fond of field mice, and during an outbreak of that pest in 

 Nevada in 1907-8 hundreds of Gulls assembled in and near the devastated alfalfa fields and 

 fed entirely on mice, thus lending the farmers material aid in their warfare against the 

 pestiferous little rodents. Several species of Gulls render valuable service to agriculture 

 by destroying insects also, and in spring hundreds of Franklin's Gulls in Wisconsin and 

 the Dakotas follow the plowman to pick up the insect larva" uncovered by the share. 



That at least one community has not been unmindful of the substantial debt it owes 

 the Gull is attested in Salt Lake City, where stands a monument surmounted by bronze 

 figures of two Gulls, erected by the people of that city "in grateful remembrance" of the 

 signal service rendered by these birds at a critical time in the history of the community. 

 For three consecutive years — 1848 to 1850 — black crickets by millions threatened to 

 ruin the crops upon which depended the very lives of the settlers. Large flocks of California 

 Gulls came to the rescue and devoured vast numbers of the destructive insects, until the 

 fields were entirely freed from them. It is no wonder that the sentiment of the people of 

 Utah, as reflected through their laws, affords Gulls the fullest protection. It would be well 



