PARASITICAL GULLS. 245 



without intending to make any use of them after- 

 ward ; but they afford such admirable marks for 

 rifle practice, that the slaughter of them is perhaps 

 justifiable, as affording a means to the end. 



It is very amusing to watch the proceedings of 

 the parasitical gulls, of whom two or three species 

 exist here — Larus parasiticus and Larus glaucus ; 

 the latter is called by the Dutchmen the " Burgo- 

 master, " from his tyrannical and rapacious selfish- 

 ness. Neither of these birds ever seem to take the 

 trouble to pick up any thing for themselves ; but 

 as soon as they observe any other gull in posses- 

 sion of a morsel which he is not able to swallow 

 outright, they dash at him and hunt him through 

 the air, until the victim is obliged to drop what- 

 ever he has secured, and the ravenous burgomaster 

 then appropriates and swallows it himself. I have 

 watched many of these nefarious transactions, and 

 the result is always the same ; the small gull turns, 

 and twists, and doubles, and dodges, screaming all 

 the time so pitifully that one would think he ex- 

 pected to lose his life instead of his dinner ; but at 

 last he is compelled to give up possession, and the 

 burgomaster then ceases to molest him. In the 

 breeding season, these parasitical gulls also pick 

 the eggs out of the nests of the inferior tribes ; 

 but, fortunately for the latter, the number of their 

 persecutors is very limited, or else they would soon 

 get exterminated altogether, and then L. parasiti- 

 cus and L. glaucus would be compelled to have re- 



