TREASURE-TROVE AT THE SHORE 237 
“This bird was called ‘Herring Gull,’ because by hover- 
ing over the schools of Herring where they swam, and 
diving to get them for food, they told the fishermen, who 
spend their lives upon the ocean on the lookout, where 
the fish were to be found. Now, though the Gulls still do 
this, they do better work, also, for they spend the time 
that they are away from their nesting-homes about the 
harbours of the large cities, making daily trips up the 
rivers and cleansing the water of refuse, upon which they 
feed. For this reason, ‘Harbour Gull’ seems to be a 
better name for them. 
“They are very sociable birds at all times of the year, 
keeping in colonies even in the breeding season, a time 
when song- and other land-birds pair, and prefer to be alone. 
The nests, when on the ground or upon flat rocks, are built 
of grass, mosses, seaweed, and bits of soft driftwood 
formed into a shallow bowl. If the edges of this crumble 
or flatten while the birds are sitting, they use bunches of 
fresh grass or seaweed to keep it in repair, with the result 
that the nest is not only a very tasteful object, but it 
blends perfectly with its surroundings. 
“The eggs are very interesting because no two seem to 
be of the same colour, being of every shade of blue and 
gray, from the colour of summer sky and sand to the tint 
of the many-coloured, water-soaked rocks themselves. 
The markings vary also in shape and size, and are in 
every shade of brown, through lilac and purple, to black. 
The parents are very devoted to their nests, and take 
turns in sitting, though the eggs are often left to the care 
of the sun on days when it is sufficiently warm. When 
the young are first hatched, though covered with down, 
