HABITS OF THE HERRING GULL—STRONG. 487 
these birds died. Presumably the combination of fear and heat was 
responsible. The dying bird appears in the picture. 
I agree with Dutcher and Baily that young gulls show the hiding 
instinct as soon as they are able to run about freely. During the 
pandemonium that prevails among the adults when one approaches 
the nesting place of a colony of gulls, the larger young not yet able 
to fly may be observed with the aid of strong glasses, running about 
to find places for hiding. On reaching shore all young birds able to 
leave their nests will be found hiding except those that have taken 
to the water. Those able to fly are pretty sure to jom the adults in 
flying overhead, or they often alight on the water at some distance. 
This hiding instinct has been described in some detail by Dutcher 
and Baily. 
At Gull Isiand in Lake Superior, I frequently saw half-grown gulls 
running headlong over the rocky surface of the island after being 
dislodged from their hiding places. They would often fall 10 or 
more feet over ledges to rocks below without any apparent injury 
or significant delay in their rush for the water. 
According to my observations the young gull, when attempting 
to hide, especially if still in the down plumage, will remain perfectly 
quiet until it 1s handled or removed from its hiding place. After 
being disturbed in this way, however, the hiding instinct seems to be 
replaced by an impulse to flee and the bird, if not checked, will run 
in headlong fashion until it reaches water or gains a position where 
it is really out of sight, a number of rods away. Usually when such a 
bird reaches the water it will swim some distance from shore. I 
have observed the same behavior in the young of the Wilson’s and 
roseate terns, Sterna hirundo, and 8S. dougalli. The laughing gull 
(Larus atricilla) apparently shows the same behavior, but I have 
not studied the habits of this species enough to make a complete 
comparison. Probably this hiding behavior is common to most 
species of the whole order, under similar circumstances. 
In the case of the gulls hatched in tree nests, the behavior must of 
course be different. It is hardly conceivable that the young in tree 
nests as high as 50 feet above the ground, as some have been 
stated to be, can leave their nests before the flight feathers are well 
developed. Concerning this point we find Dutcher and Baily? 
saying: 
The young in tree nests also seem to have sense enough not to walk off the edge 
of the nest, for in 1902 Mr. Baily found young at least 10 days old in a tree nest. 
As viewed from my tent, the young gulls appeared to spend most 
of their time standing idly about waiting for food. The recently- 
hatched birds were observed enjoying the shade of one of their 
1 Op. cit., p. 422. 
