The Wit of the Wild 



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pouncing down in a beautiful curve when they 

 espy anything eatable, and deftly snatching it 

 up without actually touching the water. Where 

 time and place favor they will " run about the 

 fields like rooks, busying themselves with the 

 capture of insects, slugs and worms " ; and will 

 even catch mice and small birds if they can, and 

 devour them bones, fur, feathers and all. 

 They may even be taught to live wholly on 

 grain, and in such cases the stomach is modified 

 into an organ closely like a fowl's gizzard. 



The habit of rough warfare has developed a 

 great deal of courage in the bird, which will 

 fight bravely in defense of its nest or young, 

 and often boldly assails a person who has just 

 shot a companion. 



That gulls are keen-witted is plain not only 

 to one who watches them in freedom, but from 

 their behavior as pets. Various kinds have been 

 easily domesticated, and this is in itself a testi- 

 mony to intelligence, for it is not easy to make 

 a pet of a stupid creature. 



All accounts agree that captive gulls know 

 and take an interest in those who show them at- 

 ^286 



