490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 
a herring gull which was being fed daily and was very tame. This 
bird is stated to have escaped 30 years before ‘“‘from a garden where 
he had been a prisoner.”? Another bird known as ‘‘Gull Dick’’ is 
well known to ornithologists through the reports made by Mackay 
to The Auk. He says that this bird* had “‘the habit of frequenting 
and returning year after year to the waters adjacent to Brenton’s 
Reef, Narragansett Bay, and was known in consequence to the crew 
of the lightship anchored in that locality. 
In 1891 the bird arrived October 12, which makes the twentieth 
winter it is known to have passed in this locality. This bird was 
identified each year partly by its tameness, and ‘‘also by certain 
marks on its wings, also by its cry.’”’ It was reported by Mackay 
during the following four years, after which it failed to appear. 
VII. VOICE. 
1. Introductory.—During the summer of 1911, especially, I gave a 
large amount of attention to the sounds made by the gulls with the 
hope of making interpretations concerning their significance. At- 
tempts to describe the various vocal performances were made, when- 
ever possible, with difficulties which will be appreciated by all observ- 
ers who have tried to make descriptions of animal sounds. 
Though I tried to notice anything that might have any bearing on 
the significance of the sounds made by the gulls, I had the following 
points especially im view: (1) The circumstances under which each 
sound was made; (2) any possible evidence of associated emotions; 
(3) the attention given by other individuals and especially by the 
young to these sounds. As all of the cries occupy only a few seconds 
at the most, it is necessary when in the field to be ready to give instant 
attention the moment the sound is heard. Here again we see the 
advantage of the presence of a considerable number of individuals at 
such close range as they can be at a breeding place. Some notes are 
not made frequently by a single individual, and the chances of hearmg 
them are multiplied many times when the observer is in the midst of 
a fairly large breeding colony. On-the other hand, of course, a large 
number of gulls in a limited area make a bedlam of noise which is 
often confusing. With careful concentration on single sounds or 
performances it is possible to reduce the confusion of sound to a 
working basis. 
2. The alarm cry.—In my experience, whenever wild gulls are dis- 
turbed at their breeding places, at least by man, they become very 
noisy. Though other sounds are made, the characteristic and usual 
cry is what has been called by Herrick,? Ward, and others the “‘alarm 
1 Mackay, G. H., Habits of the American herring gull (Larus argentatus smithsonianus): Auk, vol. 9, 
1892, No. 3, pp. 221-228. 
2 Herrick, F. H., The home life of wild birds. 
