44 Strong, Habits of the Herring Gull. [jan. 



All of the birds that I actually saw with eggs or young were adults 

 as far as I could see. 



I have seen relatively few immature gulls during the spring and 

 summer after their first winter, but this is probably due to their 

 scattered distribution. Many individuals linger some distance 

 south of the breeding range of the species. Thus Townsend 

 speaks of immature gulls being abundant at all seasons off the coast 

 of Essex County, Massachusetts, though Herring Gulls do not now 

 breed south of Maine on the New England coast. Immature 

 gulls are also seen over the south portion of Lake Michigan during 

 the breeding season though the nearest breeding place is many 

 miles to the north. 



Concerning the longevity of the Herring Gull, I have found two 

 records which indicate that the period of life may be considerable 

 though giving no idea how long it may be. Thus Morris ^ mentions 

 a Herring Gull which was being fed daily and was very tame. 

 This bird is stated to have escaped thirty years before "from a 

 garden where he had been a prisoner." Another bird known as 

 "Gull Dick" is well known to ornithologists through the reports 

 made by Mackay to ' The Auk.' He says that this bird ^ had " the 

 habit of frequenting, and returning year after year to the waters 

 adjacent to Brenton's Reef, Narragansett Bay, and was known in 

 consequence to the crew of the lightship anchored in that locality 

 ... .In 1891 the bird arrived October 12 which makes the twen- 

 tieth winter it is known to have passed in this locality. This bird 

 was identified each year partly by its tameness, and "also by 

 certain marks on its wings, also by its cry." It was reported by 

 Mackay during the following four years after which it failed to 

 appear. 



VI. Voice. 



1. Introductory. — During the summer of 1911, especially, I 

 gave a large amount of attention to the sounds made by the gulls 

 with the hope of making interpretations concerning their signifi- 

 cance. Attempts to describe the various vocal performances were 



1 Morris, ¥. O. A History of British Birds. Vol. VI. p. 159. 



2 op. cit., pp. 226-8. 



