THE 00iX)GIST'S ADVEETISER. 



THE GULL FAMILY- 



Written for the Oologist's Advertiser. 



Of all studies in natural history the 

 study of birds, theii' nests and eggs, are 

 to me the most interesting. 



There are no less than twenty distinct 

 species of the sea gull, in or about the 

 coast of Xorth America, of which the 

 Glaucous or Burgomaster Gull is the 

 largest. This species is often very cruel 

 and daring. It attacks the smaller 

 birds and robs them of their young. It 

 also hovers aroiuid fishing-boats for the 

 purpose of devouring the carrion which 

 may be thrown overboard. 



The hunter will generally spare a 

 flock of other sea-birds, if he thinks he 

 can by doing so get a shot at the Bm- 

 gomaster. This species builds its nest 

 about the first of June or the latter part 

 of May, in which two oval-shaped eggs 

 are deposited of a dark grayish-brown 

 color, marked with patches of light- 

 brown and brownish-black. 



At certain places along the coast of 

 Labrador and the United States flocks 

 of these birds m ly be seen watching 

 intently with their dark, wild eyes the 

 fish as they rise near the surface of the 

 water, and the moment one can be 

 reached, a gull with a quick movement 

 dashes into the water and drives its 

 long bill into its prey. 



The flesh of the gull is very rank, as 

 they live chiefly on fish, and this gives 

 it a coarse, oily taste that can only be 

 relished by the poorest of fishermen. 



The ring-billed gull is another com- 

 mon specie, although it is not as large 

 as the burgomaster. 1 once heard a 

 friend of mine tell of a certain island 

 near tlie coast of Maine which is cov- 



ered annually with the nests of these 

 birds. 



Another very noisy but handsome 

 species is the kitti-wake gull, which 

 builds its nest about the first of Jtme 

 on rocky cliffs overhanging some body 

 of water. Some of the nests are com- 

 posed of grasses and sea-weeds, while 

 others are simply a depression in the 

 soil. 



The eggs are two, and sometimes 

 three in number and have a ground 

 color of brownish-gray, marked irregu- 

 larly with spots of lilac or chocolate 

 brown. A set of two eggs in my cabi- 

 net measure respectively 2.25x1.59 and 

 2.28x1.62. 



There are many other species of gulls 

 too numerous to mention, among some 

 of the most common being the Mew, 

 Laughing, Western, Skua and Herring 

 gull, all of which have the same general 

 habits. Their eggs vary in size and 

 shape according to the size of the birds. 

 The value of gulls' eggs are listed by 

 dealers anywhere from twenty cents up 

 to three dollars each. They are all 

 handsome, and make a show in any 

 cabinet. . 



All the gulls above described, togeth- 

 er with many others, congregate in vast 

 numbers each year, generally on some 

 cliff or on some island surrounded by 

 inland waters. Here at these rookeries 

 they are visited annually by egg col- 

 lectors and sailors for the purpose of 

 collecting eggs for dealers or themselves. 

 The noise made by these birds is often 

 very great, as they are sometimes heard 

 for miles out to sea. 



Although the amount of eggs de- 

 stroyed and collected each year by oolo- 

 gists is great, yet instead of the num 

 ber of birds decreasing tbey are raulti 

 Inlying year by year. x. y. z. 



