226 Bird -Lore 



The only time we see them is when they are leaving the rocks soon after sun- 

 rise on their way to the wharfs or river beach, and again just at sunset when 

 they are going to rest for the night, unless by chance a dead animal or fish 

 has been thrown up on the beach, or the season for clam-digging is on. When 

 the tide is low they feed on crabs which they catch by a leg, then fly to a rock 

 where they drop their prey, thus breaking the shells so they can eat the meat. 



The other day as I was walking by the river I saw a full-grown Gull flying 

 around with a piece of meat, and two younger ones were flying after, screaming 

 their loudest. I think the parent Gull was either teaching them to fly or to 

 steal. They are such thieves! At almost any time one can see two of them 

 having a tug of war over a fish. One will have the head, the other the tail, and 

 they will pull and fight until one wins and flies away with the booty, or another 

 Gull swoops down and grabs it, leaving the other two very angry. 



As we walk along the river to town, which is about half a mile from our 

 home, we have noticed Gulls by hundreds on the north side of the river near 

 the lighthouse, watching for fish and crabs. As soon as one secures a prize it 

 begins to scream. 



In the fall of the year when the salmon start to run, the Gulls go farther up 

 the river to the seining-grounds and to the cannery. Here they find plenty 

 of food. 



Although to some they are most annoying, they are very useful, as they 

 keep the ocean and river beaches free from all refuse and decaying matter. 

 They are protected by law, yet some boys and men delight to shoot at them. 



Their nests are made in deep grooves in the rocks, lined with straw, grass 

 and mud. There they are nearly safe from human hands. This is unlike the 

 Murres which lay their eggs scattered about on the great rocks, so they may 

 be easily picked up by anyone who can climb the rocks, which is not an easy 

 task, yet many people do it. — Irene Barnekoff (age 14 years), Bandon, Ore. 



[Perhaps some of our readers may have noticed a newspaper item last winter about 

 Sea Gulls off the coast of Ireland,' which "assisted airplanes in finding the positions of 

 submarines for the motor patrol boats stationed along the route of incoming and out- 

 going ships." The article states that "these birds, which have keen vision, can sight a 

 submarine below the surface of the water and fly down to see whether it is some new kind 

 of fish. The motor boats then run up at full speed and start to shoot bombs in the sea 

 to find the suspected submarine." — A. H. W.] 



THE SUMMER TANAGER 



Last year a Summer Tanager built a nest on an oak tree near the house out 

 at the farm. Every evening I would watch the mother sit on a low branch 

 and call her mate, and I would watch the mate come and they would go to bed. 



I watched them teach their babies, but the babies were not very pretty. 

 It took them two days to learn. This year they came and built again. — 

 Robert S. Collings (age 10 years), Hot Springs, Ark. 



