Vol. XVII 
1900 
Roserts, Nesting Habits of Franklin's Gull. 279 
The exact period of incubation I am unable to state, but it is 
probably eighteen or twenty days. The chick liberates itself 
from the shell in the usual manner by cutting it neatly into 
halves, and the parents at once dispose of the fragments. The 
first downy plumage varies from a pale yellow to a soft grayish in 
color, with uncertain wavy markings of brown and blackish over 
all the upper parts. Some of the nestlings present a generally 
light appearance, while others are quite dark, but all of a brood 
are of the same general hue, and the same pattern of coloration. 
These pink-footed, pale-billed little balls of down now and then 
remain quietly in the home nest basking in the warm sunshine, 
but more frequently they are no sooner dry from the egg than 
they start to wander. A few are content to go no further than 
the broad sloping sides of the nest, and there they may be seen 
quietly dozing or tumbling about among the stems of the rushes 
as they explore the intricacies of their little island. The greater 
number, however, put boldly out to sea and drift away with the 
chance breeze, their tiny paddles of little avail as they pursue 
their now enforced journey. A gust of wind a trifle harder than 
usual, or a bump against a floating reed stem, and over they go 
bottom-side up, only to come quickly right again, dry and fluffy as 
ever. Having after many failures crawled over the tiny obstruc- 
tion, they sail contentedly on. Now and then they get out to sea 
in earnest and disappear, and are probably lost in the rough 
waters of the open lake. Their departure from the nests was 
apparently ever against the will of the old birds, and many were 
the scoldings and severe the punishments meted out to these 
venturesome offspring. A glance in the direction of some local 
outburst of furious cries would reveal a bevy of Gulls crowded close 
together, beating the air and the water over a particular spot, 
where on closer inspection might be seen one or more of these 
hapless truants. The frenzy of the old birds as the chicks neared 
the open lake was pitiful to behold. With might and main they 
endeavored to turn them back, seeming not to realize their utter 
inability to stem the breeze even had they the inclination to make 
the attempt. At last, their protests of no avail, a resort is had to 
still more vigorous measures, and seizing the drifting chicks by 
the nape of the neck with the powerful beak they are jerked 
