MAY 113 



scrupulous to a scale in a matter of young salmon fry, 

 and floating flies provide a great deal of his daily diet. But 

 the black-back's character is beyond redemption, and he 

 takes a heavy toll of salmon smolts on their way to the 

 sea. The migration is at its height just now, and yester- 

 day I watched a pair of these handsome rascals busy at 

 work on a convenient ford. Presently, through the glass, 

 I saw one of them had seized something bigger than a 

 smolt. A lively struggle went on in the shallow water ; 

 then up came Sir Black-back's head, his powerful yellow 

 bill firmly clasped upon an eel about six or eight inches 

 long. Firmly, but not firmly enough; the eel twisted 

 itself round the bill, then round the bird's snowy neck, 

 which gave it a fulcrum, so that it drew itself out of the 

 vice and dropped into the water. Up went the gull on 

 the wing and pounced on its quarry afresh; the same 

 thing was repeated again and again. At last the luckless 

 eel was pinched into comparative weakness ; still wriggling 

 vehemently it was swallowed whole ; the gull flapped off" 

 heavily to a rock hard by, and sat there enjoying, no 

 doubt, ecstasies of gourmandise unknown to those who 

 have never swallowed an eel alive. 



