70 



KEARTONS' NATURE PICTURES 



NEWLY-HATCHED COMMON GULLS. 



with grey, dark brown and black ; and 

 are easily distinguished from those of 

 other British breeding Gulls by their size, 

 smallness of the markings upon them, 

 and the locality of the nest. 



Although capable of making a great 

 clamour when its nesting haunt is visited, 

 the Common Gull is by no means an easy 

 bird to photograph. In spite of the fact 



that the subject of our illustration was 

 nesting close to some rough rocks, upon 

 which the waves of the Atlantic thun- 

 dered all day long, she was so quick of 

 hearing that if I made the slightest 

 sound inside my stone house, she in- 

 stantly heard it and left her nest in a 

 great hurry. 



The Common Gull is very fond of 

 resting on some coign of vantage, such 

 as a large pointed stone on an island in 

 the middle of a loch. After one bird 

 has occupied the position for a while 

 another will come along and take its 

 place, but whether any kind of sentinel 

 work is intended it is difficult to say. 

 An Irish friend tells me that he has 

 noticed the same kind of predilection 

 for the top of a flagstaff, and adds that 

 the birds always appear to be very 

 courteous to each other, for after one 

 has rested for a while it readily gives 

 place to a companion. 



