The Western Gulls 



responsibilities. Not one of them appeared to question for a moment 

 the propriety of brooding a garish murre's egg, and this in spite of the 

 fact that every mother of them would have been keen to get a taste of 

 the same egg on a murre ledge. Verily the gull is gullible! 



Unfortunately, we were obliged to leave the islands ten days later, 

 and just before the gulls were due to hatch ; but we had the satisfaction of 



noting that the situation in nine 

 of our ten doctored nests was 

 unchanged. And I have no 

 doubt but that some, at least, 

 of these humble changelings were 

 reared in proper Larine magnifi- 

 cence. 



A pleasanter aspect of gull 

 ife is afforded by the sight of 

 the birds a-wing. In a wind, 



Taken in Santa Barbara 

 Photo by the A uthor 

 IMMATURE WESTERN GULLS 



especially, one may for- 

 get his grudge and lose 

 himself in admiration 

 of the consummate skil 

 and grace with which 

 the birds address them- 

 selves to the tasks of breasting the wind or coasting down the gale. 

 Here is the original school of aviation — a forty-knot breeze blowing over 

 "Maintop," the western eminence of the Southeast Farallon. Here, if 

 ever, one will see bizarre postures and incipient shipwreck in the air. 

 The most extraordinary thing is the development of speed. Even the 



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