The Western Gulls 



MUCH THAT IS GOOD and all that is evil has gathered itself up 

 into the Western Gull. He is rather the handsomest of the blue-mantled 

 Laridce, for the depth of color in the mantle, in sharp contrast with the 

 snowy plumage of back and breast, gives him an appearance of sturdiness 

 and quality which is not easily dispelled by subsequent knowledge of the 

 black heart within. As a scavenger, the Western Gull is impeccable. 

 Wielding the besom of hunger, he and his kind sweep the beaches clean 

 and purge the water-front of all pollution. But a scavenger is not neces- 

 sarily a good citizen. Call him a ghoul, rather, for the Western Gull is cruel 

 of beak and bottomless of maw. Pity, with him, is a thing unknown ; and 

 when one of their own comrades dies, these feathered jackals fall upon 

 him without compunction, a veritable Leichnamveranderungsgebrauchs- 

 gesellschaft. If he thus mistreats his own kind, be assured that this gull 



Taken on the Southeast Farallon 

 Photo by the Author 



THE FEAST 



THE FIRST-COMERS HAVE JUST CLEANED UP THE MURRES' EGGS FROM THIS 

 COLONY, DESERTED THROUGH FRIGHT 



asks only two questions of any other living thing: First, "Am I hungry?" 



(Ans., "Yes.") Second, "Can I get away with it?" (Ans., "I'll try.") 



The ocean, to be sure, offers the gull an abundance of "natural" food. 



Surface-ranging fish, herring, smelt, and the like, are staple objects of pur- 



n8i 



