° 1914 J Strong, Habits of the Herring Gull. 33 



send ^ as follows : " They may often be seen flying nearly straight 

 up or in circles, with a clam or a crab, which they drop from a 

 height, follow closely the descent, and alight to regale themselves 

 on the exposed contents. If they fail to break the shell the first 

 time, they try again. This habit, which is also a common one with 

 Crows explains the fact that molluscs shells, crabs, and sea urchins 

 are scattered along our coast, sometimes half a mile from the sea." 

 Anthony ^ states that this is a habit of various gull species, and he 

 says " the clam was as often dropped on a soft sand beach as other- 

 wise, and after repeated efforts the gull seemed unable to under- 

 stand why the shell was not broken. Possibly a few yards distant 

 a rock beach would have furnished all that was necessary to make 

 the effort successful." Audubon ^ also described this method of 

 breaking mollusc shells. 



The feeding of the young by the parents will be discussed in the 

 section devoted to the care of the young. 



V. Breeding Habits. 



1. Mating.— My field studies with gulls in both 1907 and 1911 

 were carried on after mating had apparently ceased. Most of the 

 observations described by others do not include mating. At Great 

 Duck Island off the coast of Maine, the breeding gulls are stated 

 by a resident ^ to arrive each year in March. They are said not 

 to be mated when they arrive. After mating is completed, nest 

 building begins. Tliis is about the middle of May or later. A 

 short but interesting account of the mating behavior is given by 

 Audubon.^ 



A peculiar performance has been observed by Ward ^ which he 

 compares to the dance of the albatross described by Fisher, but 

 its relation to mating is uncertain. Copulation also has been 

 described by Ward. 



1 Townsend, C. W. op. cit., p. 96. 



" Anthony, A. W. Random Notes on Pacific Gulls. Auk, 1906, Vol. XXIII, 

 No. 2, pp. 129-7. 



5 Audubon, J. J. Ornithological Biography. Edinburgh, 1835, Vol. Ill, p. 592. 



^Dutcher and Baily, op. cit., p. 431. 



' Audubon, J. J. Ornithological Biography. Edinburgh, 1835, Vol. III. p. 590. 



• Ward, H. L. Notes of the Herring Gull and the Caspian Tern. Bull. Wise. 

 Nat. Hist. Soc. 



