° 1914 J Strong, Habits of the Herring Gull. 31 



1 have always found Herring Gulls nesting on islands not in- 

 habited by man, but exceptions occur in the literature. A very 

 large colony of gulls studied by Dutcher and Baily was found 

 nesting on Great Duck Island which has a light house. 



Though the Herring Gull seems to prefer remote places for nest- 

 ing, it is a matter of common observation that at other times if 

 unmolested, it does not hesitate to frequent large cities where bodies 

 of water with food occur. 



IV. Feeding Habits. 



The Herring Gull is generally recognized to be almost omnivorous 

 in its feeding habits. It is especially known and prized as a scaven- 

 ger. I have found that fishermen appreciate its habit of ridding 

 the water of dead fish. It has been my observation that fish, 

 especially when fresh, are preferred by gulls ; but when hungry they 

 take almost anything in the animal food line and many forms of 

 plant matter. Dutcher ^ mentions insects including large numbers 

 of ants as eaten by Herring Gulls. Eifrig ^ noted the occurrence 

 of shells, seeds, berries, and a crab in the stomachs of three adult 

 Herring Gulls taken May 29, June 10, and June 15. According 

 to Knight,^ sea-urchins and star-fishes are eaten. Various molluscs 

 and a crustacean are mentioned by Norton,* and Audubon ^ states 

 that eggs are sucked. There is even a record of the capture by a 

 gull of a bat ^ which had been flying about over a river where gulls 

 occurred. Various molluscs are mentioned by Mackay as gull 

 food. 



My captive gulls when very hungry will eat bread, but they prefer 

 animal food. Their main article of food is liver with occasional 

 feedings of fish scraps. When live fish are caught, the Herring 



> Dutcher, W. Report of the Committee on Bird Protection. Auk, Vol. XXI, 

 1904, No. 1, pp. 164-5. 



2 Eifrig, C. W. S. Notes on Northern Birds. Auk, Vol. XXIII, 1906, No. 3, 

 pp. 313-8. 



' Knight, O. W. The Birds of Maine. 1908, p. 49. 



< Norton, A. H. The Food of Several Maine Water-Birds. Auk, 1909, Vol. 

 XXIV, No. 4, p. 438. 



s Audubon, J. J. Ornithological Biography. Edinbiu-gh, 1835, Vol. Ill, p. 

 591. 



« Rodger, A. M. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) capturing a Bat. Ann. 

 Scott. Nat. Hist. Soc, 1903, p. 51. 



