426 LAEID^E 



at the shrill whistle and -vibrations of the * syren' and fog- 

 horn. 



Though often wandering far up rivers in search of offal, 

 and assembling betimes in small numbers on pasturage at 

 no great distance from the coast, yet it is essentially 

 marine, and records from inland situations may be re- 

 garded as exceptional. It has been observed in autumn 

 and winter on Lough Neagh (Ussher). 



Flight. The sustaining power and buoyancy of the 

 Herring-Gull on the wing are remarkable. With wide, 

 outspread, and almost motionless pinions, it appears to 

 sail into the teeth of the tempest and then float against 

 the wind with a calm but progressive flight. 



" White bird of the tempest Oh ! beautiful thing 

 With the bosom of snow and the motionless wing ; 

 Now silently poised o'er the war of the main, 

 Like the spirit of charity brooding o'er pain." 



When following in the wake of a steamer which is speed- 

 ing at twenty miles an hour, this hardy sea-bird appears 

 to travel with the utmost degree of leisure and practically 

 without flapping its wings. Albeit, it can move with great 

 speed ; more so than its gentle flight would lead us to 

 suppose. 1 



This may be witnessed when food is cast overboard 

 and a group of these birds tarry on the water to devour 

 it. They are soon left behind, appearing as white dots in 

 the distance. Yet almost in a moment by a few beats of 

 their powerful pinions, they are again floating o'erhead at 

 the stern of the vessel. No less wonderful is the evading 

 arrow-like swoop so admirably displayed when they pursue, 

 or are being pursued. 



With the Eagle the Herring-Gull can almost vie in its 

 soaring-powers, reaching such heights as to appear an in- 

 distinct white moving speck. 



Food. This species is practically omnivorous. Its food 

 is largely obtained along the coast, where the bird may 

 be seen walking with cautious tread over seaweed-covered 

 stones, seeking out the hiding-places of crabs, sea-worms, 



1 On January 20th, 1903, as I was crossing the Irish Channel from 

 Dublin to Holyhead, I timed the stroke of the pinion in the case of 

 fifteen different Herring- Gulls in various stages of maturity, from a flock 

 of thirty which followed astern of the steamer. During quiet flight, the 

 weather being calm, I determined that the average number of strokes 

 per minute amounted to 160, or a little less than three per second. 



