GULLS WINTERING IN NEW YORK 253 



up and see. To my great astonishment, I found a distin- 

 guished company of sixty-seven Herring Gulls, standing and 

 sitting in serene contentment on the sheet of ice that covered 

 one-half the surface of the water. It was a nice, quiet, genteel 

 place, well below the sweep of the wind; there was plenty of 

 water for the birds to soak their feet in when the ice made them 

 too cold, and what more could a Gull ask, except a daily de- 

 livery of fresh fish? 



The voice of this Gull is not melodious; and some persons 

 call it harsh and strident. But opinions differ, even on as small 

 a matter as the voice of a Gull. I never yet heard the cry of 

 a wild gull, either on the booming sea-shore or over the silvery 

 mirror of an inland lake, which was not music to my ears. 



In captivity the Gull is badly handicapped. With the 

 primaries of one wing clipped to prevent escape, and without 

 the power of flight, it is not seen at its best; for no gull is 

 perfect save in flight. Our flock is continually shrieking pro- 

 tests against unlawful detention, and with perfect wings 

 every one would quickly fly away, as did those bred in the 

 park and reared to adolescence with perfect wings. We tried 

 to colonize them, but once away they never came back. 



In an enclosure which embraced a pond and an island in- 

 habited by about twenty Gulls, twelve Canada geese and a 

 few other birds, two enterprising Gulls decided to nest and 

 rear a family. Accordingly, they built a nest under a bush 

 which stood on a point of the island, in a position that strate- 

 gically was well chosen for purposes of defence. The two 

 birds made a very wise division of the labor. The female 

 built the nest, laid the eggs and hatched them, and the male 



