194 THE GULLS 



relentless murderer is among the most revolting and gruesome that 

 Nature has to offer. The old birds are persecuted by the Skuas, and 

 no doubt also at times fall victims to large Gulls and Hawks. Thou- 

 sands used to be slaughtered for the decoration of ladies' hats, but 

 fortunately the law stepped in to check this murderous form of 

 feminine weakness, with the result that there are fewer dead kitti- 

 wakes in the shops and more alive on the sea. 



Old and young quit their breeding-haunts towards the end of 

 August, and are subsequently found all round our coasts and out to 

 sea, sometimes in huge flocks. They are not, as far as I know, found 

 inland except when storm-driven. Many are so worn out by heavy 

 gales that they succumb, and their bodies are tossed ashore sometimes 

 in hundreds a feast for hungry Gulls and Crows. 



