426 LARIDAG 
at the shrill whistle and vibrations of the ‘syren’ and fog- 
horn. 
Though often wandering far up rivers in search of offal, 
and assembling betimes in small numbers on pasturage at 
no great distance from the coast, yet it is essentially 
marine, and records from inland situations may be re- 
garded as exceptional. It has been observed in autumn 
and winter on Lough Neagh (Ussher). 
Flight.—The sustaining power and buoyancy of the 
Herring-Gull on the wing are remarkable. With wide, 
outspread, and almost motionless pinions, it appears to 
sail into the teeth of the tempest and then float against 
the wind with a calm but progressive flight. 
* White bird of the tempest—Oh ! beautiful thing— 
With the bosom of snow and the motionless wing ; 
Now silently poised o’er the war of the main, 
Like the spirit of charity brooding o’er pain.” 
When following in the wake of a steamer which is speed- 
ing at twenty miles an hour, this hardy sea-bird appears 
to travel with the utmost degree of leisure and practically 
without flapping its wings. Albeit, it can move with great 
speed; more so than its gentle flight would lead us to 
- suppose.! 
This may be witnessed when food is cast overboard 
and a group of these birds tarry on the water to devour 
it. They are soon left behind, appearing as white dots in 
the distance. Yet almost in a moment by a few beats of 
their powerful pinions, they are again floating o’erhead at 
the stern of the vessel. No less wonderful is the evading 
arrow-like swoop so admirably displayed when they pursue, 
or are being pursued. 
With the Eagle the Herring-Gull can almost vie in its 
soaring-powers, reaching such heights as to appear an in- 
distinct white moving speck. 
Food. —This species 1s practically omnivorous. Its food 
is largely obtained along the coast, where the bird may 
be seen walking with cautious tread over seaweed-covered 
stones, seeking out the hiding-places of crabs, sea-worms, 
‘ On January 20th, 1903, as I was crossing the Irish Channel from 
Dublin to Holyhead, I timed the stroke of the pinion in the case of 
fifteen different Herring-Gulls in various stages of maturity, from a flock 
of thirty which followed astern of the steamer. During quiet flight, the 
weather being calm, I determined that the average number of strokes 
per minute amounted to 160, or a little less than three per second. 
