742 THE HEERi\rANX CULT.. 



llifir own ]>niniii\c crafts, and so tlcNuted are tlic\ to ihc spun nf liig-clri\ing 

 that you would lliink it must afford theiu a means of livelihood, if the log is 

 large enough a dozen hirds will stan<l in line drifting, drifting, — whither, no 

 one knows nor cares. 



The fact is, Heermann's Gull is an inveterate loafer and sycophant, a 

 professional idler. Of southern hlood (we ha\e just learned that he is hred 

 on islands oti the coast of Mexico) he coiues north in June only to float and 

 loaf and dream thruoul the remainder of the season. X'isit the "Bird Rocks" of 

 Rosario Straits earl_\- in July, and _\'ou will find a colimv of Glaucous-wings 

 distraught with family cares and wheeling to and fro in wild concern at your 

 presence, while upon a rocky knoh at one side, a white-washed cliih room, sit 

 half a thousand Heeriuanns, impassive, haughty, silent. If you pre.^s inquirv 

 they suddenly take to wing and fill the air with low-pitched mellow cries of 

 strange (juality and sweetness, as the_\' luake off to some distant rendezvous. 

 And go where you will, at wdiat season, the Heermann G.ull is guiltless of 

 local attachments — in the North. 



While occasionally seen during migrations in the ])assage of the upper 

 Sound, this bird a\-oids the tide-Hats and harbors, keeping to the more open 

 water, or else feeding and resting aiuong the kelp beds. It is fond of the 

 smaller Hsh, and earns its rests by agility here. As Anthony says: "When 

 herring are swimming in compact schools near the surface l)oth Heermann's 

 antl Western Gulls secure them bv approaching the school from behind and 

 fl\ing near the surface of the water, making rei^eatetl quick dips into the 

 school. The fish seek safety in the dei)ths the instant anything occurs to 

 alarm theiu, but soon return to the surface, so that the gulls by stalking them 

 froiu the rear are enabled to approach quite near before the fish are alarmed. 

 As soon as the limits of the school ha\'e been passed, the gull, rising higher in 

 the air, returns bv a wide circuit and again ]iasses over the school from the rear. 

 As the fish all sAvim in one direction, in a compact mass, these tactics afford 

 the gulls a decided advantage which seems to be thorol\- understood." 



While these birds abound in the lower Sound region, it is significant that 

 we saw none in [jassing from Neah Bay to Destruction Island in Jinie, 1907, 

 and saw them only once upon that coast in the cruise of 190(1: \'\z.. at Split 

 Rock on Jul)' 9th. Of their leisurely return in the fall. Cooper wrote : "Early 

 in September large flocks of this gull begin to enter Shoalwater ba\- with the 

 terns and pelicans. They remain aljout two months before retiring southward, 

 fishing for the herrings which come at that season. Tho quite rapid in flight, 

 and well able to suppl\- themsehes with focid, they ha\e ;i curious hal.Mt of 

 "sponging" on the pelicans and large gulls. (Jften a long train of pelicans is 

 seen, as the tide is rising, slowly wandering mund the bay, each one attended 

 by one or more of these gulls which are usually some distance behind. When- 

 ever a ])elican awkwardh' plunges into the water and eiuerges with its enor- 



