118 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. ]G-No. 8 



that the subject is uninteresting to others, 

 sinij)ly beeiiuse it is an old story witli them- 

 selves; wlioreas, to tlie less favored landsmen, 

 the subject is really fascinatiiif;, for with tlieni 

 "familiarity has not bred contemiit." 



As I am myself a landsman, who has been 

 fortunate enougli to have spent a winter on an 

 island at the entrance of the harbor of one of 

 the greatest fishing ports of the world, I have 

 availed myself of the opportunity to keep an 

 eye out for any interesting items and "family 

 gossip" of the birds of the sea, for these ?)0)i 

 mots, if not as important as dry data of the 

 capture or occurences of the birds themselves, 

 are, at least, fully as interesting. 



During the winter I was a frequent passen- 

 ger on the "trawlers" and " netters," besides 

 enjoying several cruises on a government vessel 

 in M issachusetts and Ipswich Bays, and was 

 "outside" ( to use the fishermen's phrase,) in 

 all kinds of weather, and saw many difl'erent 

 phases of bird life. One of the birds which I 

 shall ever associate with the ocean in winter 

 time, is the Kittiwakc, known by the fishermen 

 of Cloucester as tlie Jleterick, Jack (iull. Snow 

 Gull, Winter Gull, Frost-bird, etc. 



From early November until late in March, 

 they are always present in greater or less num- 

 bers, and one never runs off-.shore far enough 

 to escape them. No weather is too boister- 

 ous to keep them in port. When the air is 

 frosty witli zero weather, or in the thickness of 

 a snow storiu, — and snow in thick at sea, — 

 be the water rough, or glassy in a dead calm, 

 tlie Meterick is always prescitt. 



lie is Neptune's Chickadee, and is as confid- 

 ing and cheerful as liis counterpart of our 

 woods and orchards. His voice, too, is just as 

 "harmoniously harsh," and as full of minute 

 variations as with tliat good-natured fuss- 

 biulget. True, he has no syllabic sounds like the 

 "chick-a-dee-dee-dee," which startles one so 

 on a winter's day, when he fancies himself the 

 only animate being within gunshot; but there is 

 not .1 sound in the tJhickadee's conversational 

 vocabulary which has not a duplicate in that of 

 the Kittiwake, though the latter is far more 

 bashful than our Parii.s and nevcrsays anything 

 unless he feels perfectly at homo. 



They are very graceful birds and equally 

 strong of fiight. Tliey remind me of the iish- 

 ing vessels which they follow, while the large 

 (Julls are like the coasting vessels, brave 

 enough on fair days, but mighty uneasy in 

 "easterly" weather, when they run for the 

 nearest road-stead and stay there until the 

 storm signals are taken down, liut no wind 



turns the Meterick back, and tliey never eeme 

 into the harbors in any numbers, compared to 

 their ]ilentifulness outside. 



1 have been sailing "on the wind," when it 

 blew a gale, and watched a Winter (iull which 

 sailed just over the peak of the main-sail (a 

 favorite position), and though I stared until 

 my neck was stiff, and my eyes afire I eould 

 not see a feather move in the wings. If we 

 heeled to a flaw, the bird slid to one side; if 

 we increased or .slackened our speed, he did 

 tlie same, and always keeping exactly the same 

 distance from the sail, and on several occasions 

 I have seen it preen the fcatheis of the breast 

 and nnder-jiaits, and even scratch its car with- 

 out losing headway. 



The most favorable condition to .study the 

 ways of this bird is found by taking passage on 

 a "trawler," for wlicn the lisheimeu bring 

 their trawls aboanl to bait, tliey cho]> up frozen 

 herring for that i)ur])osc, and throw the heads 

 and tails overboard. A.s the Gulls are alw.ays 

 hungry and very tame, they will come along- 

 side, frequently alighting within a couple of 

 feet of the schooner's sides. In lighting, they 

 and all other Gulls which I have seen, hover 

 for a moment over the spot selected and then 

 .settle down, leaving their wings half sjircnil 

 .above their back for some little time, for what 

 leason, I am unable to guess, unless it is to 

 steady themselves, and when they take llight 

 they invariably face the quarter fiom which 

 the wind may be blowing. 



.Someone has said that Gulls aie the Crows of 

 the sea, aiul ceitainly they are great scaven- 

 gers, but one article of which the Winter Gulls, 

 probably others, are very fond, is not gener- 

 ally known, viz. : fish eggs. On several occas- 

 ions, wiien 1 have thrown infertile spawn 

 over the rail, and seen these Gulls devour it 

 very greedily, and as the eggs of most salt 

 water fish float on the surface duiing the jieriod 

 of hatching, it is possible that the (iuUs make 

 way with no inconsiilerable numbers. 



The other birds of this family, which aio 

 commonly seen are the Herring, lilack-backed, 

 and Glaucous Gulls, though none aie as 

 abundant as the Meterick, nor are they found 

 under all conditions; for, .although I have seen 

 the first two species out of sight of land, they 

 are much more common in-shoic. They both 

 occur in immature and adultjilumagcs throngli- 

 out the winter; while with the Herring (iulls, 

 the young is the more common, and is the 

 source from which the fishermen derive tlic 

 name of "Gray Gull." This title is given 

 indiscriminately to the young of either the 



