GULLS. 125 



and other \arieties are taken in great numbers. .So long as 

 this is done systematically and with due attention to the 

 demands of nature, there is here just as legitimate a source 

 of income as there is from the possession of an immense 

 fowl-house. As many as forty-four thousand eggs have 

 been taken from "guUeries" on one estate, and yet so carefully 

 •is this robbery achieved that there is no'diminution in the 

 number of birds. So expert on the wing are the black'-headed 

 gulls that they are able to catch insects in the air. 



The Eastern Herring Gull — L. occidentalis — is similar 

 to a very common kind in England to wit, L. argeiitatus, which 

 'is an even finer bird than the common gull, and measures at its 

 very best about two feet. As its name implies, it is a follower 

 of the shoals of fish upon which much of its food depends. 

 When engaged in this occupation its powers of flight, so far 

 as the exhibition of control is concerned, are seen at their 

 ^very best. The steady progress under wing power or by 

 means of air currents is when necessary suspended on the- 

 instant. Something below has attracted attention. If there 

 is no question as to the presence of prey, the downward dart 

 is instantaneous and usual!}- efi^ective. If there is doubt, 

 there is a moment's hovering to make sure, and then the dive 

 or the onward flight as the case ma}' be. There may be 

 hundreds and thousands of hungry birds collected within so 

 small a space that to all appearance collisions must be 

 frequent, and at the speed used dangerous, if not fatal, but 

 nobody ever sees an}thing of the kind. Over, or under, to 

 one side or the other, does the "automatic steering gear" 

 carry each bird, a marvel of simple effectiveness not a whit 

 less wonderful than the more evident flying mechanism. 



A Aariety of this species is L. Cachinnaiis, the laughing 

 gull, common during the cool season along the coasts of 

 'China. At that time one sees them inland so far as North 

 Manchuria, and even farther on towards the centre of 

 Southern Siberia, wherever conditions are favourable. The 

 bird has the red beak and legs and the black cap of a species 

 above described. Passengers via the Mediterranean may see 

 it in great numbers at the proper season. The nest of the 

 laughing gull is placed in some marsh}- situation, as is that 

 of some other kinds, whilst others again keep to the bare 

 coast, and deposit their eggs on sand or rocks. The nest of 

 the laughing gull is made of dry grass and sea-weeds. 



Other species referred to by Pere David are L. Niveiis, 

 the snow-white gull, L. Crasfiirostris, the thick billed gull, L. 

 Bruiuieicephaliis, the brown-headed, and Cbroicocephaliis 

 Saundersi, or the Saunders Gull. 



So far, no mention has been made of the aggressive 

 nature of certain of the gull family, but so important a trait 



