136 



BIRD STUDIES WITH A C'AMEKA 



then setting up tlioir tables and " sjjlitting " the cod 

 with suri)rising dexterity.''^ 



This industry resulted in a, singular habit among 

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



r-j. Sjjiittili;.' coj cm IVrcc_- IkwIi. IV-ivc' Kock iu tliu JisUillc 



loss to explain. In a cultivated hillside bordering 

 the town a flock of about fifty Gulls was observed 

 eagerly devouring some food, whicli was apparently 

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

 vestigation the grasshoppers proved to be entrails, 

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

 strewn over tlie fields as fertilizer. Tlie 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 |)icti;re. 



It was thi-ough thes(! fields, and along the crests 

 of the red sandstone cliffs noi'thwest of the town. 



