HABITS OF THE HERRING GULL—STRONG. 493 
made, with these rare exceptions, consisted of a shrill squealing 
chatter. 
Adult birds in late summer after the breeding season is over make 
a cry which is at least similar if not identical with the ‘‘challenge,” 
but I have not observed it at close range. 
4. Other cries —Though the ‘‘alarm”’ and ‘‘challenge’’ cries make 
up a large portion of the general clamor at a breeding place, especially 
when the birds are disturbed or excited, other sounds are also made. 
Of these a cry remarkably like the mewing of a cat is one of the most 
frequent. The birds I saw ‘‘mewing”’ held the neck arched and the 
head pointed downward. This performance often occurred when 
adults approached young birds apparently their offspring. It also 
seemed at times to be made in calling the young. The adult gull at 
the extreme right in plate 8, figure 2, is seen ‘‘mewing.”’ This bird 
was engaged in coaxing its newly hatched young to a place not so 
near the tent, and they were too weak to do more than stumble along 
over the pebbly beach. The whole procedure was rather deliberate 
and more or less interrupted. Now and then the adult would make 
the mewing sound, and on one of these occasions I obtained the 
photograph just mentioned. Ward?‘ observed another set of con- 
ditions under which the mewing cry may occur as follows: 
The first day that I was in the tent, at 3p. m., arain squall came up. Dark clouds 
obsctred the sun, occasional flashings of lightning were seen, and peals of thunder 
sounded from time to time. The wind came in cold sharp gusts. The shrill cries of 
the gulls were quickly subdued and a plaintive mewing was the all-prevailing sound. 
On a few occasions I heard a shrill and prolonged cry which was 
distinguishable from the mew and yet apparently related to it in its 
characteristics. This I have represented in my notes by the syllable 
‘Kerr’? with the ‘‘e” sounded as in her. It suggested to me a noise 
often made by a contented hen in the chicken yard. I was unable 
to get any clue to its significance. 
A high-pitched kee sound is often made when the bird is flying. 
I have heard this given by gulls away from their breeding place. It 
is of appreciable duration, and it descends slightly in pitch. 
Another performance which I noted only a few times involved a 
rapid series of weak notes not unlike the peeps of a newly hatched 
gull but with more of a whispering quality. This I represented as 
follows: ‘‘peep-peep-peep-peep-peep, etc.” The beak was opened 
only slightly and shut with each note. It is possible that this is the 
‘run down” alarm cry which Herrick mentions, but its occurrence 
was not connected with any apparent alarm nor was it closely pre- 
ceded by alarm cries. The bird stood about in the position shown 
in plate 8, figure 1, and was very near my tent. The noise would not 
have been heard if the gull had been many feet away. Perhaps a 
1 Op. cit., p. 129. 
