136 



BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 



then setting up their tables and " splitting " the cod 

 with surprising dexterity." 



This industry resulted in a singular habit among 

 the Herring Gulls, which, when first seen, I was at a 



73. Splitting cod on Perce beach. Perce Bock in the distance. 



loss to explain. In a cultivated hillside bordering 

 the town a flock of about fifty Gulls was observed 

 eagerly devouring some food, which was apparently 

 abundant. " Grasshoppers," I thought, but on in- 

 vestigation the grasshoppers proved to be entrails, 

 heads, vertebrae, etc., of codfish, which had been 

 strewn over the fields as fertilizer. The Gulls took 

 wing at my approach, and perched in long rows on 

 the fences ; a curious sight, of which I tried, but 

 failed, to secure a picture. 



It was through these fields, and along the crests 

 of the red sandstone cliffs northwest of the town, 



