32 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 
flight of this Gull; it is performed in the slow 
and deliberate manner of all these birds, and is 
equally wonderful in many of its characteristics. 
The food of this Gull is composed indiscriminately 
of marine and terrestrial creatures. The bird will 
follow the plough, or search the pastures for grubs, 
insects, and worms; it searches the shore for any 
stranded creature to its omnivorous taste; it hunts 
the wide waste of waters in quest of fish, and 
follows vessels to pick up any refuse that may be 
thrown from them. This Gull is to a great extent 
nocturnal in autumn and winter. Its note is a harsh 
and persistently uttered yak-yak-yak, most fre- 
quently heard when its breeding places are invaded 
by man or predaceous animals. The Common Gull 
is a thoroughly gregarious and social bird, often 
congregating in large flocks, and mingling with 
other species. 
By the end of April most of the adult Common 
Gulls have left all our southern coasts and retired 
northwards to their breeding places. As these 
are visited yearly in succession, it is not improbable 
that this Gull pairs for life. Its nest colonies are 
situated both inland and on the coast. An island 
in a mountain lake, the marshy shore of a loch, 
the flat table-like summit of a rock stack, or the 
rolling grassy downs near the open sea, in little 
populated districts, may be chosen; but so far 
as my experience with this Gull extends, I have 
found the favourite site to be rocky islands in quiet 
