608 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



throws the rat was generally in a fit state to be 

 bolted, which he was. head first. The Hooks are 

 rather enemies to my Gulls, as they are nearly as 

 tame and know the feeding times quite as well, 

 and, being able to fly, carry off the best bits 

 under the very noses of the Gulls, who can do 

 nothing but scream ; but a fight between Kooks and 

 Gulls for food seems nothing unusual, as I have con- 

 stantly seen them, at Teignmouth, after the seine has 

 been drawn for sand-eels, have great squabbles for 

 the possession of these little fish, of which they both 

 seem equally fond. The wild Herring Gulls do not 

 appear to be a bit more particular in their choice of 

 food than the tame ones, as they search about har- 

 bours, roadsteads and tidal rivers for any floating 

 substance that may serve as food, and keep a con- 

 stant look out for scraps thrown from vessels. I 

 have even seen one follow the steamer from Alder- 

 ney quite across the channel to the Needles, con- 

 stantly wheeling round and round, and keeping a 

 very sharp eye upon anything that was thrown over- 

 board. In some places the Herring Gulls seem to 

 do much mischief, especially in hard weather, for 

 Dr. Saxby, writing from Shetland, in the * Zoologist' 

 for 1866 (Second Series, p. 214), says he has often 

 seen them feeding in the turnip-fields during a frost, 

 and has found their stomachs filled with pieces of 

 turnips : he adds that in spring they feed on newly- 

 sown corn, and consume considerable quantities of 



