282 GULL 



or gull (skua), saddleback, said or sethe fool, foul or fowl, scait- 

 bird, scart, seawrey, scoulton, scoulton pie, pewit or pint scouter, 

 scoutiauliii, scowry, scull, scutiallan, sea-cobb or crow, sea-eagle, 

 sea-go, goo or gow, sea-maw or mew, seed-l)ir(l rplough follower), 

 senator, shooi, shooie, shuggrie Willie (young), silvery, skaet- 

 bird, skua, small maw (common), snow-bird, sj)eikintare (com.), 

 sprat loon (Kent), swabie, swart or swert-back ; Tanye-maw, 

 tarrack, tarrackie, tarrock, teaser, Tom hurry, trumpie (skua), 

 tuliac ; Wagell, weather gaw, whale gull, white bonnet, white 

 gull or maw (herring), wiese-allan, will, willie-gow (Kug.), winter, 

 wormie ; Yellow-foot. 



The etymology of the foregoing it is impossible to give 

 beyond the leading word "gull," which is said to be so named 

 from its stupidity — at least by Lowlanders ; but by Celts said to 

 be from "guil," to wail, etc., "guileag" being the cry. The 

 word " faoileann " means also an exposed place beside the shore 

 covered with small white stones. 



This beautiful and graceful bird is well known even to inland 

 dwellers, but any lore therewith is found among those whose 

 habitat is the coast, etc., and with whom the gull was considerably 

 more than a mere visitor, forming, as they sometimes did, a staple 

 article of food. Seagulls or fowls in such use, therefore, are 

 preserved by being "salted" with ashes of burnt sea-ware, in 

 cows' hides. The young gull (sgliurach) is said to be excellent 

 eatmg. "Nether Lochaber" tells of a certain individual who 

 was called " Eachunn nan sgliurach " from his knowledge of this 

 fact, though Celts, as a rule, would rather starve than make a 

 meal of a seagull, which is considered "unclean," hence the 

 proverb " Righinn, righinn, mar bha 'n sgliurach thug Eachunn 

 MacUilleachain do dh' Alasdair MacCholla-chiotach," tough, 

 tough, as was the young gull given by Hector MacUilleachan to 

 Alexander the son of left-handed Coll. This was a reference to a 

 cipher message " tough," or difficult to decipher, carried on the day 

 of Inverlochy. This proverb or saying is applied to any matter 

 appearing difficult of solution. " Nether Lochaber " attributed it 

 to the said Colkitto on giving up a seagull he had abstracted 

 from the said Hector, on finding it uneatable (see Celtic Magazine, 

 Vol. Vn., page 3 1 4 — note). The fat of sea-fowls, though not perhaps 

 the common gull, is made into a pudding in the stomach of the 

 fowl and named " giben " or " gibean." This is said to be a sure cure 

 for wounds and bruises. The common gull leads a hard life, as 

 it is not reckoned particularly dexterous or clever m pursuit of 

 prey, patience and watchfulness being its chief characteristics. 

 The glaucus or white gull is, however, a perfect ocean tyrant, 

 dreaded by all other gulls, as is also, perhaps still more, the 

 skua (faisgeadair), which is noted for living on the produce of other 

 sea birds alone, by causing or " squeezing " them to drop or dis- 



