HABITS OF THE HERRING GULL—STRONG. 483 
lested, it does not hesitate to frequent large cities where bodies of 
water with food occur. 
III. FEEDING HABITS. 
The herring gull is generally recognized to be almost omnivorous 
in its feeding habits. It is especially known and prized as a scaven- 
ger. I have found that fishermen appreciate its habit of ridding 
the water of dead fish. It has been my observation that fish, espe- 
cially when fresh, are preferred by gulls; but when hungry they 
take almost anything in the animal-food line and many forms of 
plant matter. Dutcher! mentions insects including large numbers 
of ants as eaten by herring gulls. Ejifrig? noted the occurrence of 
shells, seeds, berries, and a crab in the stomachs of three adult her- 
ring gulls taken May 29, June 10, and June 15. According to 
Knight,’ sea urchins and starfishes are eaten. Various mollusks and 
a crustacean are mentioned by Norton,‘ and Audubon® states that 
eggs are sucked. ‘There is even a record of the capture by a gull of 
a bat ° which had been flying about over a river where gulls occurred. 
Various mollusks are mentioned by Mackay as gull food. 
My captive gulls when very hungry would eat bread, but they 
preferred animal food. Their main article of food was liver with occa- 
sional feedings of fish scraps. When live fish are caught, the herring 
gull may immerse its head and a large portion of its body, but I 
have never seen complete immersion. The bird may fly down to the 
water for food, but it does not dive vertically as terns do. Other 
writers have made similar observations. 
Pieces of food not too large are swallowed entire, and the mass 
may be relatively great (pl. 2, fig. 2). My captive gulls swallowed 
fish as long as 10 inches on a number of occasions. Under ordinary 
conditions in cool weather, one of my birds would eat 4 to 6 ounces 
of beef liver at a meal, when fed once a day, and it would be hungry 
the next day. 
IV. BREEDING HABITS. 
The nests, as has been stated by others, are usually fairly bulky 
and of varying materials. Apparently grass, fine weed stems, and 
feathers are preferred as these occurred: in the majority of nests. 
Sometimes, however, nests were made largely of strips of bark or of 
coarse weed stems. Other beach débris may be used, especially the 
finer or softer materials. Bits of bark and other coarse materials 
appear in the nest which is shown in plate 4. 
1 Dutcher, W., Report of the committee on bird protection. Auk, vol. 21, 1904, No. 1, pp. 164-165. 
2 Hifrig, C. W.S., Notes on northern birds. Auk, vol. 23, 1906, No. 3, pp. 313-318. 
3 Knight, O. W., The birds of Maine. 1908, p. 49. 
4 Norton, A. H., The food of several Maine water birds. Auk, 1909, vol. 24, No. 4, p. 438. 
5 Audubon, J. J., Ornithological biography. Edinburgh, 1835, vol. 3, p. 591. 
§ Rodger, A. M., Herring gull (Larus argentatus) capturing abat. Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist. Soc., 1903, p. 51. 
