280 Roperts, Nesting Habits of Franklin's Gull. eee 
bodily and roughly out of the water, and from a height of three 
or four feet thrown as far as possible in the desired direction. 
This being repeated time and again — often several old birds 
taking part in the performance — until the youngsters are at 
last flung into some nest, exhausted and bleeding from the blows 
and pinches inflicted by the sharp bills of the parent birds. 
This strange spectacle was of common occurrence, and these 
vigorous nursery duties seemed to occupy much of the attention 
of a goodly part of the members of this colony. Probably under 
ordinary conditions of water and protection such disturbances 
are less frequent. So far as the disciplining and care of the 
young went there existed a curious spirit of communism among 
these Gulls. An old Gull cared for whatever young Gulls fell in 
its way, and when the stray chicks chanced to clamber up into a 
strange nest, against which they happened to drift, they were after 
a few admonishing squawks welcomed as one of the household, 
and scolded, pecked, and fed just as though the foster parent had 
laid the eggs from which they were hatched. 
Now and then an entire brood would escape in a body and 
crawling up beside some incubating bird on a neighboring wind- 
ward nest would cuddle close about the old bird, who, to all ap- 
pearances, was perfectly willing to adopt them in advance of the 
appearance of her own infants. 
Occasionally we saw old Gulls already in possession of a family 
twice the size to which they were entitled, rushing out and pounc- 
ing upon other fresh arrivals, who were quickly hustled and jerked 
up among the others until not infrequently ten or a dozen of these 
tiny balls filled the nest to overflowing, and in the diversity of 
coloration presented plainly indicated their varied parentage. 
Most jealously were these, foundling asylums watched over and 
many were the fierce encounters in mid-air that resulted when some 
marauding band dared to interfere. A single Gull, aided it might 
be by some accepted neighbor, fed apparently without distinction 
all these youngsters, and time and again we saw some little chap, 
“just fished out of the water and still sore from the rough usage to 
which he had been subjected, fed to repletion by his captor, who 
disgorged into the tiny mawa juicy mass of dragon-fly nymphs 
brought from the meadow a mile away. 
