386 THE GULL. 



tainly have thrown it off its balance ; no tremulous movement 

 of its flappers, no impatient stretchings of its neck, no gapings 

 of its mouth. There it stood, motionless, as if conscious of the 

 dangers attendant on even the slightest bustling display of 

 satisfaction. It was impossible not 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 

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

 or variety within its reach. It was curious to observe the pro- 

 ceedings 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 themselves 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 grey 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 breed- 

 ing-places on the west coast of England without referring to 

 the history of the Black-headed Gulls which annually frequent 

 a particular spot in Norfolk. From time immemorial, these 

 birds have frequented an island in a mere about thirty miles 

 from the sea, at Woodrising, the property of John Weyland, 



