BIRDS. S85 



nbundance ; it is there that the gull breeds and brings up its 

 young; it is there that millions of them are htiard screaming 

 with discordant notes for months together. 



Those who have been much upon our coasts know that there 

 are two different kinds of shores ; that which slants down to the 

 water \rith a gentle declivity, and that which rises with a preci- 

 pitate boldness, and seems set as a bulwark to repel the force of 

 the invading deeps. It is to such shores as these that the whole 

 tribe of the gull-kind resort, as the rocks offer them a retreat for 

 their young, and the sea a sufficient supply. It is in the cavities 

 of these rocks, of which the shore is composed, that the vast 

 rariety of sea-fowls retire to breed in safety. The waves be- 

 neath, that continually beat at the base, often wear the shore into 

 an impending boldness ; so that it seems to jut out over the 



the fish which he presents to them. It is, therefore, very nattiral that tliey 

 should pursue individuals of their own species, in whose possession they see 

 any food, a fact, moreover, of wliich we are constant eye-witnesses in other 

 species, such as sparrows, hens, &c. 



Gulls have been found by navig-ators in all latitudes; they are, however, 

 both more numerous <uid larger in the northern regions, where tlie carcasses 

 of large fishes and cetacea present them with more abundant food, and it is on 

 the desert islands of the two polar zones, where tliey are undisturbed, that 

 they preffer to nestle. They deposit their eggs either in a hole upon the 

 Band, or in the crevices of rocks ; but in less deserted countries the smaller 

 species seek the borders of waters, or of the sea, which are covered with 

 plants. The Sea-mew is a species of gull, 'distinguished from the rest by its 

 black and white pie-bald appearance, although the individuals vary from each 

 other in the colour of their plumage. 



The Term have been also called Sen Sjcal/oirs, from the resemblance of 

 their forked tail, long wings, and tlieir constant habit of shanng the surfaie 

 of the water in all directions, in pursuit of small fish. Hut the term is ex- 

 ceedingly objectionable, as tending to the inter-confusitm of birds of such 

 different orders, and such essential differences of confonnation and habits. 

 'I'he tcnis are continually on tlie u-iiig, and, though web-footed, are not seen 

 to swim ; they rest but seldom, and only on the land ; their food consists, 

 fur the most part, in small fish and mollusca, which they seize upon the sur. 

 face of the watiT ; but they also catch aerial insects. In flying they send 

 forth sharp and piercing cries, especially during nestling time. In calm 

 weather they sometimes rise very high, and are often seen to come plump 

 down. The young dift'er from the adult and aged, only before the moulting, 

 which is d()ul)le in the known species, and there is no external dift'eronco 

 between the two sexes. Tlie females deposit their eggs, usually two or 

 three in number, in a cavity, jmd tliese nests ju-e sometimes so close, that lbs 

 fitting birds touch each other. Terns are found in both continents, fr< lu 

 the sea."!, lakes, and rivers of the north, as far as the vast coasts of the Auo- 

 tral Ocean, and in almost all the intermediate climates.. 

 III. 2k 



