436 THE GULL. 



to feel something like pity for the dull life it was 

 doomed to lead in such a cradle : it being evident that, 

 from the moment of its quitting its egg-shell, to that 

 hour, the choice of standing on its right or left leg, or a 

 cautious putting forth of one foot before the other, to 

 tho extent of a few inches, was the only source of 

 amusement or variety within its reach. It was curious 

 to observe the proceedings of many of the older birds. 

 The din was incessant, and some seemed quite exhausted 

 with screaming, or hearing others scream; for they 

 might be seen flying off from the main body to a retired 

 crag or niche, as if to rest awhile in perfect silence. 



Now and then, indeed, as if by mutual consent, the 

 uproar entirely ceased, and the whole body settled them- 

 selves on a rocky inclined plane, interspersed with grass, 

 just below the light-keepers' dwellings, which formed 

 their grand nursery establishment; for there, in every 

 stage of growth, hundreds of young ones were moving 

 about. No doubt each parent had a perfect knowledge 

 of its own offspring, though generally speaking, there 

 were no signs of recognition; for, to all appearance, old 

 and young seemed to mingle, without much reference to 

 relationship; and a stranger might have supposed there 

 was a common property in the nestlings. The only 

 sign of parental attachment was, that an old bird would 

 now and then fix its eye in a more pointed manner upon 

 some one of these living gray-puff-balls of downy feathers, 

 and then, suddenly opening its mouth, deposit at the feet 

 of the fledgling, a crawful of half-digested shrimps and 

 softened crabs. 



We cannot quit this account of the Gulls and their 

 breeding-places on the west coast of England, without 

 referring to the history of the Laughing Gulls (Larus 

 ridibundus), which annually frequent a particular spot in 

 Norfolk. From time immemorial, these birds have fre- 

 quented an island in a mere about thirty miles from the 

 sea, at Woodrising the property of John Weyland, Esq. 

 It contains within its banks about seventy acres, nearly 



