Brewster.] 396 [October 3, 



were noted either among the Magdalens or on the North Shore, 

 where I had expected to find them common. On Anticosti, how- 

 ever, they were numerous and generally distributed, usually out- 

 numbering the Herring Gulls. They appeared to be breeding in 

 or among the stunted evergreens that clothed the shores and 

 headlands, and many were also seen circling over the heavier 

 forests a mile or more inland where, like the Herring Gulls, they 

 frequently perched on the tops of the trees. They often fished 

 with the Herring Gulls, and the two species seemed to meet on 

 perfectly friendly terms. The Black-backs are exceedingly noisy 

 birds, especially when their young are in danger, as well as 

 towards evening. At Anticosti their clamor was one of the char- 

 acteristic accompaniments of the long summer twilight. I iden- 

 tified four distinct cries : a braying ha-ha-ha ; a deep Jceow, Jceow / 

 a short barking note ; and a long-drawn groan, very loud and 

 decidedly impressive w T hen heard, as was usually the case, in the 

 gloomy recesses of some lonely bay. 



Previous writers — Audubon especially — have dwelt on the 

 extreme shyness of this Gull, but I cannot forbear adding a fur- 

 ther tribute to its remarkable sagacity. At all times of the year, 

 during the breeding season as well as in winter, it is by far the 

 wariest bird that I have ever met. A friend, who has wasted 

 much time and ingenuity in the attempt, assures me that the 

 adults cannot be either poisoned or trapped, 1 and the obtaining 

 of a fair shot at one, even under the most favorable conditions, 

 is an achievement of which a deer-stalker might be proud. During 

 our summer in the Gulf I made every effort to obtain specimens, 

 but although they were numerous in places I do not think that I 

 once got within a hundred yards of an old bird. At Wreck Bay 

 we found three young, perhaps a week old, squatting on a grav- 

 elly point at the base of a cliff. Their parents were circling 

 overhead making the usual outcry, and at first we had high hopes 

 of getting them within range ; but, despite their evident solici- 

 tude, they kept far beyond reach of anything but a rifle-bullet. 

 Accordingly we had to content ourselves with the young which 

 were carried to the vessel and placed in a box on deck. One of 

 them escaped as we were weighing anchor, but the other two 



1 During the past season, while at Newfoundland, he succeeded in trapping some on 

 their nests. 



