168 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
is a dirty black, and the body is thick and heavy, 
more resembling the goose than the gull. 
189. They feed voraciously on fish, and possess 
such astonishing powers of digestion, that their ap- 
petite appears completely insatiable. In China, they 
are brought up tame, for the purpose of fishing. The 
sportsman always ties a string around their neck, to 
prevent their swallowing the fish. 
THE BLACK AND WHITE GULL. 
190. The largest of the Gull species is the Black 
and White Gull. It sometimes weighs four pounds, 
and its wings measure from tip to tip four or five 
feet ; its wings and the middle of the back are 
black, the rest of the body is white. 
191. Gulls are abundant in all places by the sea- 
coast, but are most plenty on the rockiest shores : 
it is there that the Gull breeds, and brings up its 
young ; it is there that thousands of them are heard 
screaming with discordant notes for months together. 
What do they feed upon ? What are they used for in China? 
Describe the Black and White Gull. Where are Gulls abun- 
dant ? 
