﻿130 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  according 
  to 
  Audubon 
  and 
  Nuttall, 
  is 
  a 
  barking 
  akak 
  kakak. 
  Every 
  one 
  

   must 
  be 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  Sea-gull's 
  scream, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  describe 
  in 
  

   syllables. 
  Its 
  food, 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  gulls 
  in 
  general, 
  consists 
  of 
  small 
  fr}^ 
  

   dead 
  fish, 
  and 
  any 
  floating 
  refuse 
  which 
  it 
  can 
  pick 
  up. 
  It 
  is 
  sometimes 
  

   found 
  feeding 
  on 
  carrion 
  at 
  a 
  considerable 
  distance 
  from 
  water. 
  When 
  

   securing 
  live 
  fish, 
  it 
  plunges 
  its 
  head 
  and 
  neck 
  under 
  water, 
  either 
  when 
  

   dropping 
  from 
  the 
  air, 
  or 
  resting 
  on 
  the 
  shore, 
  but 
  it 
  never 
  seems 
  to 
  dive 
  

   like 
  a 
  Kingfisher 
  or 
  Fish-hawk. 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  it 
  standing 
  on 
  a 
  sandy 
  beach, 
  

   in 
  shallow 
  water, 
  devouring 
  the 
  small 
  fishes 
  which 
  were 
  swimming 
  about 
  

   it, 
  till 
  it 
  had 
  swallowed 
  upward 
  of 
  50, 
  as 
  was 
  proved 
  by 
  killing 
  and 
  dissect- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  bird. 
  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  fish 
  destroyed 
  b\' 
  this 
  bird 
  are 
  mostly 
  

   small 
  fry 
  which 
  have 
  no 
  value 
  except 
  as 
  food 
  for 
  other 
  fish, 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  inclined 
  

   to 
  believe 
  that 
  its 
  principal 
  food 
  consists 
  of 
  dead, 
  or 
  disabled 
  fish, 
  or 
  of 
  

   refuse 
  which 
  would 
  pollute 
  the 
  water 
  and 
  shore. 
  Hence, 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  regarded 
  

   as 
  a 
  beneficial 
  species, 
  especiall}^ 
  when 
  we 
  consider 
  its 
  esthetic 
  importance. 
  

   The 
  lake 
  or 
  seashore 
  without 
  its 
  graceful 
  gulls 
  and 
  terns 
  would 
  lose 
  much 
  

   of 
  its 
  charm. 
  

  

  Nest 
  and 
  eggs. 
  The 
  Herring 
  gull 
  places 
  its 
  nest 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  or 
  a 
  

   shelf 
  of 
  rock, 
  and 
  occasionally 
  in 
  a 
  scrubby 
  bush 
  or 
  tree. 
  It 
  prefers 
  to 
  

   nest 
  on 
  islands, 
  probably 
  to 
  escape 
  the 
  attacks 
  of 
  marauding 
  animals. 
  The 
  

   nest 
  is 
  composed 
  of 
  grasses, 
  moss, 
  and 
  seaweed; 
  and 
  contains 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  

   eggs, 
  varying 
  in 
  color 
  from 
  greenish 
  or 
  bluish 
  white 
  to 
  brownish 
  olive, 
  with 
  

   irregular 
  spots, 
  blotches 
  and 
  lines 
  of 
  brown 
  and 
  blackish. 
  In 
  the 
  Adiron- 
  

   dacks 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  laid 
  from 
  the 
  ist 
  to 
  the 
  30th 
  of 
  May. 
  

  

  Larus 
  delawarensis 
  Ord 
  

  

  Ring-billed 
  Gull 
  

  

  Plate 
  5 
  

  

  Larus 
  delawarensis 
  Ord. 
  Guthrie's 
  Geography, 
  Am. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1815. 
  p. 
  3iq 
  

   Larus 
  zonorhynchus 
  DeKay. 
  Zool. 
  N. 
  Y. 
  1844. 
  pt 
  2, 
  p. 
  308, 
  fig. 
  282, 
  285 
  

   Larus 
  delawarensis 
  A. 
  O. 
  U. 
  Check 
  List. 
  Ed. 
  2. 
  1895. 
  No. 
  54 
  

  

  delawaren'sis, 
  of 
  Delaware 
  

  

  Description. 
  Adult 
  in 
  summer: 
  Head, 
  neck, 
  tail 
  and 
  under 
  parts 
  

   pure 
  white; 
  mantle 
  light 
  pearl 
  -blue; 
  primaries 
  tipped 
  with 
  white, 
  except 
  

  

  