A Feathered Criminal 



At one nest we found the head and neck of a domestic 

 fowl, which was probably brought from the mainland — at 

 least six miles away. A friend informed me that he had 

 known of a greater iDlacK back, kept in captivity, swallowing 

 no fewer than sixteen sparrows at a single meal ! 



At intervals when I was in the hiding-tent the gull slept 

 peacefully, with head tucked away beneath her feathers. The 

 second chick was slow in hatching, and apparently she lost 

 patience with it, for the egg was found crushed and cold one 

 morning, with the unfortunate chick half-hatched, but dead 

 and stiff. There were no marks of cattle round the nest, so it 

 is difficult to see how they could have been responsible in this 

 instance. 



About a hundred yards farther up the hillside was another 

 greater black-backed gull's nest containing three eggs. One 

 morning, from the hiding-tent, my companion watched a 

 fierce battle between two gulls beside this nest, the whole 

 colony being affected by the fight and croaking incessantly 

 as they stood about. No one, however, seemed to think it 

 was their business to interfere. In the afternoon, on visiting 

 this particular nest, I found that the marauding gull had 

 evidently overcome the rightful owner of the eggs, for these 

 were scattered about sucked and broken, while the feathers 

 with which the ground was strewn showed signs of the fray. 

 Truly a bird that does not hesitate to steal the eggs be- 

 longing to its own kind cannot inspire even the most ardent 

 bird lover with feelings of admiration or respect ! 



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