194 Twelve Months With 



The herring gull is very common in winter on 

 all the Great Lakes, and in spring may also be seen 

 on many of our inland rivers and lakes and over- 

 flowed meadows, feeding upon dead fish. 



It must have been one of these spring excursions 

 inland that inspired the following from Stevenson : 



"Far from the loud sea beaches, 



Where he goes fishing and crying, 

 Here in the inland garden, 



Why is the sea gull flying." 



Or the poet may have observed the Franklin's 

 gull, an inland species, inhabiting the prairies of 

 Minnesota and the Dakotas. 



Considering how common these fine water birds 

 now are, it is interesting to note the following 

 observation made by Mr. E. W. Nelson in his 

 "Birds of Northeastern Illinois" : "A single speci- 

 men, an adult female, was obtained in Chicago 

 harbor March 27, 1876." Very rare at that time, 

 the American herring gull was considered a 

 variety (Larus argentatus smithsonianus) of the 

 European species, known to this country only as a 

 very casual visitor to the Atlantic seacoast. 



It is interesting to watch the gulls in winter hov- 

 ering near the outlets of the sewers along the lake 

 and river fronts in Chicago, where they feed upon 

 floating refuse. As the birds are never molested 

 they are very tame, and may be approached and 

 observed without difficulty. In these flocks I have 

 only succeeded in finding the three species named : 



