LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 127 



Several times we were the excited spectators of fights that were going on just 

 outside our tent. I watched one old hen, who was very angry because She 

 could not find her chicks. As one of her neighbors lit near she grabbed the 

 tail of the intruder and gave it a sharp jerk. At that both birds grasped each 

 other by the bill and a lively set-to followed. They pulled and tugged till 

 suddenly the old hen let go and grabbed her opponent by the neck and began 

 shaking and hanging on with all the tenacity of a bull pup, till the intruder 

 got enough and departed, leaving the victor with a mouthful of feathers. 



Mr. Oliver Davie (1889) says of the nests of the California gull: 



The nests of this species are made oh the ground or built on rocks, and 

 sometimes where the birds are breeding in vast colonies the nests are placed 

 on stunted sage or greasewood bushes. They are built of sticks, grass, and 

 a few feathers. 



Eggs. — As with most water birds, only one brood is raised in a 

 season. The usual set consists of three eggs, but two are often con- 

 sidered sufficient ; four eggs are laid occasionally, and five have been 

 reported. The eggs are similar to other gulls' eggs, but they are 

 usually handsomer and often more boldly marked with striking 

 colors. The shell is thin and lusterless. The shape varies from short 

 ovate to elongate ovate. It is usually more pointed than in other 

 gulls' eggs, and is sometimes nearly ovate pyriform. 



The ground color shows a variety of shades from " Saccardo's 

 umber" or "buffy brown," in the darker specimens, to "light drab," 

 "smoke gray," or "olive buff," in the lighter specimens, which are 

 much commoner. The commonest types of eggs are spotted more or 

 less evenly with rather small spots of irregular sizes and shapes, but 

 many of them are boldly marked with large spots and blotches ; often 

 lighter and brighter shades of brown seem to be overlaid on spots 

 of darker brown or gray, producing handsome effects. Some eggs 

 are oddly decorated with fantastic scrawls and irregular lines, such 

 as are seen on murres' eggs'. These markings are generally in the 

 darker and richer shades of brown, such as "bone brown," "olive 

 brown," " warm sepia," and " Vandyke brown." Nearly all eggs 

 show underlying spots of " light violet gray," or similar colors. The 

 measurements of 50 eggs in the United States National Museum aver- 

 age 67.5 by 45.5 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes 

 measure 71.5 by 47.5, 69 by 50.5, 57.5 by 41, and 65.5 by 40.5 

 millimeters. 



T ounff.-i have no data on the period of incubation, which is 

 probably about the same as with other large gulls. Probably both 

 sexes incubate. The young are quite precocial; after a few days in 

 the nest, they learn to run about and hide among the stones or under 

 the vegetation near their nests. They are good swimmers and, even 

 when very small, will take to the water readily and swim away until 



