200 EGYPTIAN BIRDS 



It is a very lively little Gull ; its flight is much 

 lighter than the preceding, and when several are 

 together they can hardly ever keep quiet for long, 

 but from time to time give vent to their peculiar 

 cry, which by some has been likened to the sound 

 of laughter. 



Captain Shelley says that, in a year where there 

 was a terrible scourge of locusts, these Gulls were 

 present in large flocks busily engaged in devouring 

 these mischievous insects. In that way, and in the 

 ordinary scavenger work that they share with all 

 other Gulls, they are of great use to the country and 

 should be protected. 



I have seen them in ones and twos everywhere 

 up and down the river, but the larger flocks are 

 only to be seen at the great lakes of the Fayoum 

 or along the coast, and I particularly remember, 

 because of the weirdness of the surroundings, one 

 occasion when I saw large flocks on the shores of 

 the Red Sea. It was at Kosseir, and the coast 

 there is alternately gently shelving sandy shore, 

 and jutting-out, flat-topped rocky reefs. To one 

 of these reefs I went as the tide was leaving them 

 exposed, whilst flocks of Gulls and Waders were 

 waiting for their evening meal. 



The rock plateau going right out to sea was a 



