1891. 
July 13-16
(No 4)
England.
St. Ives. - The Gulls are by far the most interesting
of all the birds that I have seen here.  One is always 
sure to find from one to three or four hudnred in
the little harbor. Fully 90% are L. argentatus, the 
remaining 10% being L fuscus and L canus. The
majority of all three species are old birds in full
plumage but there are a good many young not
yet strong on wing and a fair sprinkling of
immature birds with mixed blue & gray mantles.
These Gulls, old and young alike, are surprisingly tame
and fearless, often alighting on the roofs of the houses
and flying in swarms among the wharves passing
within six or eight yards of the men at work there.
When sitting on the water, as they constantly do
in beds of fifty to one hundred birds each, they
allow the boats which are incessantly passing to &
fro to approach within ten or fifteen yards, often
merely swimming a little to one side or, if hard
pressed, rising and flying a few rods before
alighting again. Some artists, who have studios
along the water front of the harbor, feed the
Gulls from their windows. I tried it on the 
mornings of the 15th & 16th and found that a
loaf of bread, broken into small pieces, lasted only
a few minutes under their assaults. At one time
I had fully fifty of the superb great birds within
ten yards of the window flapping and circling
almost directly beneath me.
  The Herring Gulls here utter three distinct sounds
(1) a cackling ca-ca-ca (2) a deep kau, kau,
and (3) a weird, wailing cry (e-e-e-a) exceedingly