168 THE GULLS 



on the rocks. It then descends in a leisurely manner for it has no 

 fear that any other gull will venture to dispute its rights and, if not 

 very hungry, merely eviscerates its victim and devours the internal 

 parts. 1 The great blackback occasionally spoils the spoilers. Mr. 

 C. J. King informs me he has seen a pair of these birds tear in two the 

 chick of a lesser blackback, and each swallow its half. 



The herring-gull has not been observed to eat adult puffins and 

 shearwaters, but it is difficult to believe that it is less enterprising in 

 this respect than its fellows, the more so as it is known to seize fully 

 fledged young kittiwakes, simply throttling them, and then tearing 

 open the soft, warm breasts. 2 



It is perhaps hardly necessary to add that wounded birds, ducks, 

 game-birds, and the like receive little mercy if they chance to be 

 detected. The same applies to the small migrants that reach our 

 shores on weary wings. They are promptly seized and swallowed 



whole. 



After the recital of these gruesome gastronomic feats, it comes 

 almost as a relief to know that the gulls themselves are victimised 

 by Skuas. The latter chase and force them to disgorge their last 

 meal, which they then snap up and swallow in mid-air. From these 

 attacks the great blackbacked-gull seems to be exempt: it has 

 apparently only the eagles to fear, 3 and human beings. The latter 

 consume every summer bucketsful of gull's eggs, and they are said to 

 be good eating. One lighthouse-keeper told me he was equal to a 

 breakfast of three to four of those of the lesser blackbacked. 

 Personally I never got beyond the first spoonful, the flavour being 

 too strong for my taste. 



The eggs are not always taken for such legitimate purposes, as the 

 following incident narrated by Mr. J. M. Boraston will show. 4 He 

 happened to be on Puffin Island one day when it was visited by a 

 Field Naturalists' Club. In reference to some of the members of this 



1 C. J. King, in litt. '* E. Selous, The Bird Watcher in the Shetland*, pp. 308, 314. 



3 Naumanu, Vogel Mitteleuropas, xi. 205. 4 Birds by Land and Sea, p. 244. 



