238 THE GULL. 



fly so near, that the fanning of their wings could 

 almost be felt, while others would alight within a 

 few yards, and conning us over with a vacant simple 

 stare, kept repeating their plaintive, melancholy, 

 imploring sort of note. While, on the other hand, 

 a pair or two of the large Black-backed Gulls (Larus 

 mar'mus) from time to time sailed by, and then 

 dropping on their inaccessible ledge, reconnoitred 

 us with a scrutinizing look, from their keen, sus- 

 picious, penetrating eye. The former, barely opening 

 their comparatively slender beaks enough to give 

 vent to a gentle cry, seemed to say, " We are 

 poor harmless creatures ; do not hurt us." The 

 latter, on the other hand, the moment they had 

 alighted, opening their's as wide as possible, uttered 

 a loud hearty scream, as much as to say, " This is 

 our territory; you have no business here/' Not far 

 from the resting-place of this pair of black-backed 

 Gulls, a couple of the common sort had, when we 

 last visited this interesting spot, established them- 

 selves on a bit of a plateau, that made one giddy to 

 look at, and quite tremble for the fate of their sole 

 offspring, a little gray downy-covered nestling, with 

 about half an inch between its toes and destruction, 

 for a breath might have blown it over: but there 

 stood the little tottering bird, quite at its ease, so 

 well tutored apparently, that when the old ones 

 successively returned with food, it betrayed none 

 of those emotions common to young birds, which 

 would certainly have thrown it off its balance; 

 no tremulous movement of its flappers, no impatient 

 stretchings of its neck, no gapings of its mouth. 

 There it stood, motionless, as if conscious of the 



