244 OUR RARER BIRDS 



breeze, and showers of snow and sleet were falling at intervals. 

 Among the storm and the angry waters the Common Gulls 

 were busy, flying up and down a few yards above the waves, 

 and every now and then dropping to catch a fish or pick 

 some floating substance from the sea. They did not go far 

 out from shore, and ever and anon a few birds would settle 

 down upon the water, where they were almost invisible among 

 the foam-crested waves. The flight of the Common Gull is 

 slow and deliberate, performed with regular beats of the long 

 wings; but the bird has considerable command over itself, 

 and can turn and twist and hover with much gracefulness. 

 I have also seen it fly in the teeth of the gale, and mount 

 up high in air to swoop down wind with amazing quickness. 



The food of the Common Gull is composed of insects, 

 worms, grubs, frogs, and fish. The bird may sometimes be 

 seen searching among the rocks and heaps of drifted seaweed 

 at low water, and it picks up any floating garbage from the 

 sea. I have known it follow in the wake of a fishing smack 

 for miles, picking up anything eatable that by chance was 

 thrown overboard. It is by no means a shy bird at sea, but 

 on land it rarely ventures within gunshot, unless at its 

 breeding colony. After its appetite is satisfied, the Common 

 Gull seeks some quiet ocean rock or low island, where it 

 preens its feathers and sleeps. This bird flies much at night, 

 especially in autumn and winter ; but during summer it is 

 rarely on the wing during the few short hours of darkness. 



The Common Gull collects at its breeding- places late in 

 April, but the eggs are not laid until the middle of May. 

 You may find its nest in many different localities. Sometimes 

 a small island in a mountain lake is used ; and I have taken 

 its eggs from the low cliffs and the flat tops of rock-stacks, 

 as well as on the quiet parts of the shore far from man's 

 habitation. But the most extensive colonies, so far as my 

 observations extend, are established on rocky islands in the 



