WINGED FISHERFOLK 273 



of the net, stand-up fights sometimes taking place 

 between " a lurking villain crow " and a gull over a 

 tit-bit. 



A number of gulls inhabit the Thames in London, 

 and feed almost exclusively on the bread thrown to 

 them by the passers-by. These gulls have now become 

 quite an institution, and many clerks and other City 

 men make a point of feeding them every day. 



On the voyage to and from England gulls follow 

 the steamer for the greater part of the journey. It is 

 on these occasions that one is best able to realize the 

 flying powers of a gull. The birds keep pace with a 

 P. and O. steamer with ridiculous ease. A dozen flaps 

 of the wing in a minute suffice to enable them to out- 

 distance the ship. 



The commonest gull in Madras is known to natural- 

 ists as the laughing-gull {Larus ridibundus). Why it is 

 so called I have never been able to discover. It is 

 difficult to describe this or any other gull in such a way 

 as to render its identification an easy matter, unless, of 

 course, the bird be held in the hand. 



The laughing -gull may be distinguished from the 

 brown-headed gull, which also visits Madras, by the fact 

 that the wing of the former is the shorter by over an 

 inch and its first quill is white, with black edges and 

 tip, while in the latter species the quill is black, with 

 a subterminal white band. To recognize a free bird in 

 this way is about as easy as catching it by putting salt 

 on its tail. Then, again, young gulls differ considerably 

 in appearance from the adults. Lastly, most species 

 are seasonally dimorphic ; in winter the head is usually 



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