66 WILD NATURE'S WAYS. 



GULL'S NEST ON STONE IN LOCH. 



different species. No amount of persecution seems 

 to make them waver for a moment in their alle- 

 giance. If either member of a pair should fall 

 a victim to gun or trap, the survivor straightway 

 disappears in search of a new mate, and I have 

 known the second wife or husband, as the case 

 might be, brought home within twenty-four hours 

 of the calamity to the departed. 



Even if male and female should both suffer 

 death in one season, a fresh pair of birds will 

 frequently arrive the following year to battle, 

 with pathetic bravery, against odds of infinite 

 length. 



Stranger still, hereditary rights would appear 

 to be maintained by some birds in a nesting site 

 even at the cost of violating a family habit. The 

 common gull is a gregarious bird, yet from time 



