The Herring Gull on Lake Superior 



87 



old feathers. Each contained about a peck of material, formed into a low 

 heap, with a shallow bowl-shaped bed in the top, six or eight inches 

 across. 



The nesting season was past, but we found some half dozen addled 

 eggs. Judging from these, there were two types, which we would charac- 

 terize as a gray -green and a gray -brown. They approximated in size and 

 form an ordinary hen's egg. 



As we climbed up the rocks, the young Gulls that did not swim away 

 sought refuge by hiding ; and so closely did they blend with the color and 



HERRING GULLS NEST AND TWO YOUNG CULLS 



tone of the rocks that they were scarcely discernable, even at a distance of 

 but a few feet. 



With heads down and bills invariably thrust into the farthest corners, 

 they crouched in the crannies. The appearance of these little Gulls, thus 

 huddled down, strongly suggested kittens. 



They were covered with a soft, fur-like down, in color grayish white, 

 indistinctly mottled with black. The markings on the head are much more 

 sharply defined than on the body. The eye is black and the expression 

 alert. The feet, like a puppy's, are much too large for the body, and the 

 whole effect is comical. We found these small Gulls usually in pairs, and 

 judged therefrom that each family kept to itself. 



A curious instinct of self-defence — to disgust its enemies — was invari- 



