ANSERES. Tl 



it between its powerful mandibles^ it runs a few steps, then spreads 

 its wings and mounts in the air to a height of thirty feet or more, 

 when it lets the bivalve drop on the hard sandy beach, and descends 

 to pick out the mollusk from the broken fragments. Should the first 

 attempt to break the shell by this means prove a failure, the bird 

 repeats the operation ; and I once witnessed nine successive attempts 

 before the firm shell yielded. On riding up to the spot I found that 

 the shell was of unusual thickness, and measured more than two 

 inches across the surface. Small Crustacea, sandhoppers, dead fish, 

 and carrion of all kinds are also laid under contribution, as this Gull 

 is both omnivorous and voracious. In a state of domestication it 

 will feed freely on cooked vegetables, or on anything that may be 

 offered to it, although it always gives the preference to fresh meat of 

 any kind.^^ — Buller. 



112. Larus scopulinus. Forst. 



Mackerel G-uli-. Tarapukga. 



White, with pale ash-grey back and wings ; secondaries, ash ; first and second quilla 

 black, with a large spot of white near the tips, most of the others white, witli a black band 

 near the tips, all tipped with white ; spurious wing, white ; bill, red in summer, reddish- 

 black in winter, and in the joung birds ; legs and feet red, reddish-black in the winter. 



L., IV ; W., 12-25 ; B., 2 ; T., 2. 



ligg. — Yellowish-grey, marked with grey and dark-brown blotches; length, 2'1 ; 

 breadth, 1-5. 



Hah. — Auckland Islands, Australia, Tasmania, New Caledonia. 



'' This pretty little Gull is one of our commonest birds, frequent- 

 ing every part of the coast, and being equally plentiful at all seasons 

 of the year. It is a bird of very lively habits, and its presence goes 

 far to relieve the monotony of a ride over such dreary stretches of 

 sand as the Ninety-mile Beach and the coast-line between Wanganui 

 and Wellington. At one time you will meet with a flock of fifty or 

 more in council assembled, fluttering their wings, chattering and 

 screaming in a state of high excitement ; at another you will observe 

 them silently winnowing the air, turning and passing up and down at 

 regular intervals, as they eagerly scan the surface of the water. Here 

 you find them ranged apart along the smooth beach like scouts on a 

 cricket-ground ; there you see a flock of them packed together on a 

 narrow sand-spit, standing closer than a regiment of soldiers, heads 

 drawn in, one foot up, ' standing at ease.^ Then, again, if you 

 observe them closely you may see them following and plundering the 

 Oyster-catcher in a very systematic manner. Nature has furnished 

 the last-named bird with a long bill, with which it is able to forage in 

 the soft sand for blue crabs and other small crustaceans. The 

 Mackerel-Gull is aware of this, and cultivates the society of his long- 

 billed neighbour to some advantage : lie dogs his steps very persever- 



