32 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



flight of this Gull ; it is performed in the slow 

 and deliberate manner of all these birds, and is 

 equally wonderful in many of its characteristics. 

 The food of this Gull is composed indiscriminately 

 of marine and terrestrial creatures. The bird will 

 follow the plough, or search the pastures for grubs, 

 insects, and worms ; it searches the shore for any 

 stranded creature to its omnivorous taste ; it hunts 

 the wide waste of waters in quest of fish, and 

 follows vessels to pick up any refuse that may be 

 thrown from them. This Gull is to a great extent 

 nocturnal in autumn and winter. Its note is a harsh 

 and persistently uttered yak-yak-yak, most fre- 

 quently heard when its breeding places are invaded 

 by man or predaceous animals. The Common Gull 

 is a thoroughly gregarious and social bird, often 

 congregating in large flocks, and mingling with 

 other species. 



By the end of April most of the adult Common 

 Gulls have left all our southern coasts and retired 

 northwards to their breeding places. As these 

 are visited yearly in succession, it is not improbable 

 that this Gull pairs for life. Its nest colonies are 

 situated both inland and on the coast. An island 

 in a mountain lake, the marshy shore of a loch, 

 the flat table-like summit of a rock stack, or the 

 rolling grassy downs near the open sea, in little 

 populated districts, may be chosen ; but so far 

 as my experience with this Gull extends, I have 

 found the favourite site to be rocky islands in quiet 



