48 Strong, Habits of the Herring Gull. Ijan. 



fighting birds, or even at times the approach of other gulls seems to 

 be sufficient cause for its production." 



My captive gulls have indulged in a performance which I have 

 observed on a few occasions. This has appeared to be a developing 

 challenge. The first efforts were made in their first autumn. The 

 same positions were taken, and the sounds made were as similar 

 as the first crowing efforts of a young rooster are to the crow of a 

 mature cock. The last attempt was observed in the early summer 

 of 1913. As my birds have attempted the challenge only on rare 

 occasions, I have not been able to study its characteristics satis- 

 factorily. Each time the performance was begun without warning, 

 and it was over in a few seconds. On each occasion a contest over 

 food was in progress, although the bird making the noise was not 

 always engaged in the struggle. Contests over food are exceedingly 

 frequent, however, and the only sounds made, with these rare 

 exceptions, consist of a shrill squealing chatter. 



Adult birds in late summer after the breeding season is over 

 make a cry which is at least similar if not identical with the " chal- 

 lenge," but I have not observed it at close range. 



4. Other cries. — Though the "alarm" and "challenge" cries 

 make up a large portion of the general clamor at a breeding place, 

 especially when the birds are disturbed or excited, other sounds are 

 also made. Of these a cry remarkably like the mewing of a cat is 

 one of the most frequent. The birds I saw "mewing" held the 

 neck arched and the head pointed downward. This performance 

 often occurred when adults approached young birds apparently 

 their offspring. It also seemed at times to be made in calling the 

 young. The adult gull at the extreme right in Plate X, Fig. 2 is 

 seen "mewing." This bird was engaged in coaxing its newly 

 hatched young to a place not so near the tent, and they were too 

 weak to do more than stumble along over the pebbly beach. The 

 whole procedure was rather deliberate and more or less interrupted. 

 Now and then the adult would make the mewing sound, and on 

 one of these occasions I obtained the photograph just mentioned. 

 Ward ^ observed another set of conditions under which the mewing 

 cry may occur as follows: "The first day that I was in the tent, 



iop.clt..p. 129. 



