OCEANIA WOOD 395 



ing his importance, and in assaulting the neighbors that the other 

 gulls, meantime, had all the advantage and ate all the provender. 



Of the fifty or more species of gulls found all over the world, at 

 least thirty inhabit the Americas. It is difficult to explain their 

 complete absence from the immense ocean area between the South 

 American Continent and Australasia. It seemed as if we had missed 

 something when, after the crowds of gulls in San Francisco Harbor 

 and along the Pacific coast, we failed to see a single one during 

 the long journey to New Zealand. I presume little of the 

 food the birds crave is available in the lagoons and atolls of 

 Polynesia. 



Although I have studied these birds in many lands, I have never 

 seen any of them catch fish after the manner of their cousins, the 

 terns. On one occasion I thought I saw a western gull light on the 

 water and pull out a fish, but of this I am by no means certain ; the 

 bird gave me little opportimity for investigation, as he swallowed 

 his catch at once, without taking wing. Moreover, the prey may 

 have been a dead fish floating on or near the surface. I was, of 

 course, fairly well acquainted with the hawking habit of our laugh- 

 ing gull {Larus atricilla), as well as the Franklin and other species, 

 and have seen individuals of several of these hunting and catching 

 insects and even field mice, swooping after them almost with the 

 agility of sparrow hawks. In view of this lack of opportunity, I 

 was much interested in the account furnished by a writer in the con- 

 tributor's column of a recent Atlantic of "gulls" (probably species 

 of booby) in South ximerica that, unlike their northern relatives, 

 dive to a considerable depth for fish : " These birds are very similar 

 to their cousins of the north; they are, though, less well groomed, 

 and do not look as sleek and nice as their northern neighbors. The 

 only noticeable difference is in the shape of the wing, which has a 

 decided break, and not the even beautiful curve of the wing that the 

 northern sea gull has. From my home in Valparaiso I have watched 

 these birds dive, and sometimes from a height of a hundred feet. It 

 is a peculiar thing that they do this in flocks rather than singly. A 

 most remarkable sight it is to watch — to see a hundred or more birds 

 turn, as if by one accord, close their wings and dive in after the fish. 

 A beautiful sight it is, too, to see a flock of sea gulls serenely circling 

 above the waters dive, to catch for a moment the flash of the white 

 feathers of their upturned wings in the sunlight, to see them strike 

 the water, and again to see them bob up one by one. Of note is it 

 that almost never did I see one return unrewarded." 



Did you ever notice a colony of gulls sitting quietly in the open? 

 If there is little or no wind, and the day is bright, they stand or lie, 

 either in a long line or in closer formation, facing the sun. And, by 

 the way, what a pretty sight — these smooth, well-groomed, statuesque, 



