266 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



fish, mice, small birds, snails, worms, and flies, are 

 all consumed in turns, as opportunity offers. If a 

 live mouse is turned down on the lawn before him, 

 he at once gives chase, and, coursing rapidly in 

 pursuit of it, like a Wagtail after a fly, seizes it with 

 unerring aim behind the head, and after a sharp 

 pinch or two, which crushes the skull and larger 

 bones, the unfortunate mouse is swallowed whole. 

 Sparrows and other small birds are treated in the 

 same way, being invariably first crushed and then 

 swallowed, head-first, whole. In this way I have 

 seen him take five Sparrows in rapid succession. 



A curious fact with regard to this Gull is that he 

 catches Sparrows for himself very dexterously, and 

 the way in which he does it is this : About the time 

 that the fowls are being fed, he makes his way to 

 the poultry-yard, and, mingling with the hens, walks 

 very slowly about with head drawn in, so as to make 

 his neck look very short, and as if, in fact, he were 

 trying to look as much like a fowl as possible. As 

 soon as the general rush for the grain is over, the 

 Sparrows drop down one by one, and then it is that 

 the Gull, drawing gradually within reach, sud- 

 denly darts out his long neck and seizes an un- 

 fortunate Sparrow by the head. So rapidly is this 

 done that escape for the unsuspecting Sparrow is 

 hopeless, and in another second he is crushed and 

 devoured. 



As I have said, this Gull has swallowed as many 



