330 LARIDiE. 



SO disporting themselves, as if in pure enjoyment of the delightful 

 day. They seemed to feel, with Moore, 



" Blest power of sunshine, genial day. 

 What balm, what life is in thy ray. 

 To feel thee is such real bliss," &c. 



This interesting flight was formed by the birds, singly or in 

 pairs, circling round from all points, so as to be going in opposite 

 directions, thereby coustituting the strange diversity I had so 

 often witnessed under similar circumstances. At such times they 

 are perfectly silent, — never breaking the stillness of the empyrean 

 mth one discordant sound. 



January 1, 1842. — I watched for a long time about sixty of 

 these gulls " following the plough,^' in a field adjoining Park- 

 mount, on the western side of the bay, where it was beautiful to 

 observe them, their manner was so playful and full of life. They 

 kept in a close flock generally, within ten or twelve yards of the 

 plough in its progress, and were frequently not more than one or 

 two yards distant from the ploughman^s head. Hovering en 

 masse over the newly turned-up furrows, one or several together 

 dropped down as their prey appeared. They called all the time, 

 though on other occasions of the kind I have particularly remarked 

 their silence. On the 18th of the month above one hundred came 

 under my notice in the same manner, on the county Down side of 

 the bay. In the numerous fields already ploughed around the 

 one in which the process was going forward, not a single gull was 

 to be seen. They may be remarked similarly engaged about hus- 

 bandmen employed in harrowing. 



Farmers generally are so very unwilling to admit that any 

 birds do them good, I quote the following with much satis- 

 faction : — With reference to a great breeding-haunt, Scoulton 

 Mere, in Norfolk, and known as such for above three centuries, 

 we are told that " now and then a year of jubilee is given, and no 

 eggs taken ; this was done lately at the instance of the neigh- 

 bouring farmers, who justly value the services of these birds in 

 the destruction of grubs, kc."* 



* Lubbock's ' Fauna of Norfolk,' p. 123 (1845). 



