188 Strong, Habits of the Herring Gull. [April 



ing birds. The gull which appears in Plate VII, Fig. 2,^ was studied 

 carefully from my tent for several hours on June 26 which was a 

 very warm day. During the middle of the day this bird made 

 trips to the beach edge for water so frequently that I timed some 

 of the periods. I found that the intervals between drinks varied 

 from three to ten minutes. There was more or less bathing each 

 time the bird went to water. I did not note any water drinking 

 by gulls not brooding, at the breeding place. 



My captive gulls seem to need very little water to drink in cold 

 weather. During the first winter it was my practice to take 

 warm water to the gull yard which would not freeze over imme- 

 diately. In the winter of 1911-12, the temperature was below 0° F. 

 for some weeks and during quite a portion of this time there was 

 neither snow' nor ice in the place occupied by the gulls. No other 

 opporttmities were present for the gulls to secure water than in their 

 food or in the very slight amount of water which adhered to the 

 food , mostly liver. I never saw any evidence of interest in the water 

 which I brought to the gulls, and they seemed to thrive without it. 



3. Perching. — The Herring Gull being a web-footed bird would 

 not be expected to have a perching habit, nevertheless it does perch 

 sometimes, after a fashion. One of my captive gulls may be seen 

 in Plate XX perched on the side of the swimming tank, a position 

 not infrequently assumed by these birds on leaving the water. 

 On July 29, 1 saw Herring Gulls perched in the foliage of the upper 

 outermost branches of tall trees on one of the Strawberry Islands. 

 They did not remain there long and they presented the appearance 

 of standing on foliage rather than on single limbs. 



Other observers have reported seeing Herring Gulls perched in 

 trees. Thus Clarke ^ saw these birds perching in pine trees while 

 their nests were being photographed. Fleming ^ noted Herring 

 Gulls roosting on some dead pines at night. Of course there is no 

 such gripping of the perch by the feet of a gull as is done by a true 

 perching bird. 



1 See Auk, January, 1914. 



2 Claike, C. K. Ontario Notes. Auk, 1901, Vol. XVIII, No. 4, p. 401-2. 



3 Fleming, J. H. Birds of Parry Soimd and Muskoka. Auk, 1901, Vol. XVIII , 

 No. 1, p. 34. 



