GULLS. 



chiefly of fishes, but they by no means confine themselves to this 

 diet ; indeed, sea-gulls feed upon all kinds of animal matter thrown 

 up by the tide or discovered floating on the surface of the ocean, 

 thus fulfi'Uing the same duty on the shores of the sea as the carrion 

 crow does in the interior of the country. No substance is too 

 putrid to afford them a meal. They may be seen in the winter 

 associating with rooks and crows, searching for worms and insects, 

 frequently at a great distance from the sea. The whole race is 

 proverbially gluttonous, frequently taking so much food as not to 

 be able to fly till they have disgorged part of their repast : this, 

 indeed, they will readily do when alarmed and frequently when 

 slightly wounded. Some, called Skuas or Parasitic Gulls {Lcstris), 

 chiefly live by robbing their neighbours of whatever food the}' 

 have taken : these are recognizable by their shorter, thicker, and 

 more hooked bills, lengthened tail, and strong sharp claws. In 

 these respects, as well as in possessing a cere, they show some 

 affinity with birds of prey, which they also partially resemble in 

 their habits. Their flight is peculiarly rapid. In the ordinary gulls 

 the bills are more elongated and slender, and are without a cere at 

 the base of the upper mandible. They congregate in the breeding 

 season, often in immense and countless multitudes: some breeding 

 on the rocks by the sea, and others in the lone and marshy pools 

 and lakes, often many miles inland, but seldom if ever in elevated 

 or mountainous parts of the country. Many of them, the inland 

 breeders more especially, are instinctively weather-wise, always 

 leaving the sea before a storm comes on. In all the species of 

 which the habits are known, the young are mottled; they acquire 

 their adult plumage gradually and not perfectly till the third 

 year, so that a mottled gull is always under three years old. — 

 MUDIE. 



The nest of the gulls is formed of seaweed, at the distance of 

 a few feet from the water, and is mostly placed on a shelving 

 rock. 



This family includes the Gulls proper, the Skimmers, and the 

 Terns. 



