LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 83 



aim, would in an instant finish the business, and, before the unhappy duck 

 vTould Ijnow which way to turn, its brood would be one less. On several occa- 

 sions I Iiave seen the mother duck dra^vn several feet in the air by clinging to 

 the gull as it dove for its prey, and several times I have seen a venturesome 

 " black-back " get knocked over with a charge of shot when he happened to 

 get too interested in his pursuit and allow of my too close approach. 



He writes in the same paper that some of these gulls partially de- 

 voured some cormorants which he had shot and allowed to drift 

 on the water for a short time. It feeds largely on fish, but prob- 

 ably seldom succeeds in catching them itself. It does not object 

 to carrion, and will gorge itself on the carcass of a dead whale or 

 pick up anything that it can find in the way of animal food along 

 the shore. While wintering on our coasts it does its part as a scav- 

 enger, feeding on floating garbage with other gulls. 



Mr. Cleaves contributes the following notes on its feeding habits : 



From remains discovered on the ground it was evident that the food of the 

 birds consisted exclusively of fish and allied sea food. The greater portion of 

 a large squid was once found where it had been abandoned, evidently by a 

 fleeing youngster; and on another occasion we discovered a 10-inch mackerel 

 that had been very little affected by the digestive juices of the old gull that 

 had delivered it to her young. Lesser remains of fish were frequently found, 

 and occasionally we came to bones where it would seem they had been dis- 

 gorged in the shape of pellets. None of the food was secured in the fresh- 

 water lake, but was obtained from the ocean, which lay more than 5 miles 

 distant to the west. From early morning until late in the evening the old 

 gulls were seen flying either toward the ocean or returning from it, their 

 course being always the same. The birds traveled in companies of twos or 

 threes, and while passing over the land barrier always sought an altitude 

 which insured safety from any possible gunshot. 



Behavior. — The soaring flight of the great black-backed gull is 

 majestic and grand in the extreme. It has been well likened to the 

 flight of an eagle, for the resemblance to the king of birds is cer- 

 tainly striking, as it floats in great circles high above its rocky home, 

 the monarch of its tribe. When traveling its flight is slow and 

 heavy, as might be expected in the largest of the gulls, but it is 

 always strong, dignified, and protracted. Macgillivray (1852) writes : 



Its flight is strong, ordinarily sedate, less wavering and buoyant than that of 

 smaller species, but graceful, effective, and even majestic. There, running 

 a few steps and flapping its long wings, it springs into the air, wheels to 

 either side, ascends, and on outspread and beautifully curved pinions hies 

 away to some distant place. In advancing against a strong breeze it some- 

 times proceeds straight forward, then shoots away in an oblique direction, 

 now descends in a long curve so as almost to touch the water, then mounts 

 on high. When it wheels about and sweeps down the wind its progi-css is 

 extremly rapid. It walks with ease, using short steps, runs with considerable 

 speed, and, like the other gulls, pats the sands or mud on the edge of the 

 water with its feet. It generally rests standing on one foot, with its head 

 drawn in ; but in a dry place it often reposes by laying itself down. 



