NATURE NOTES 
172 
our left, and made towards the cormorants. T wo of the men 
had guns shouldered read}' to fire. When we realised this we 
shouted and clapped our hands to startle the birds, but our 
voices carried a very short distance, and the unsuspecting birds 
sat on. Bang ! bang ! went the guns. The four birds rose, 
and to our great relief flew away unhurt. 
S. D. W. 
SOUTHERN GULLS. 
fSUpsygT is a frequent enough sight to behold the graceful terns 
Rd Jm and heavy gannets divdng in the waters of Bass’s 
Straits for their finny prey ; but not so often does 
one catch sight of the bold Pacific gull taking headers 
into the briny in search of sustenance. Its more frequent plan 
is to dodge along the beach just at the edge of the receding tide, 
or along the sandbanks in the estuary of our river, capturing 
small crustaceans or fish which become stranded in the shallow 
water. One morning last week, however, we were favoured with 
a view of about twenty of these fine birds congregated in a little 
bay inside the river’s mouth, and making things very lively for 
each other, or any other bird that came into their vicinity. It 
seems that a number of large fish had been cleaned at this spot 
and the birds were massing there with a view to a banquet on 
the remains. One would spring up two or three feet from the 
water, incline its head downwards, and then dash boldly beneath 
the surface, never failing to reappear in a second or two with 
the portion which had been dived for, but which the possessor 
was never allowed to devour in peace. Its reappearance on the 
surface was the signal for one or more other gulls to make a 
dash and capture the coveted morsel, and there would ensue 
a free fight until one got away to the middle of the river : even 
there one bird more tenacious than the rest would generally 
pursue the robber, and they would soar up and dash down 
until the pursuer got wearied and rejoined his noisy comrades, 
or until the pursued dropped his mouthful, leaving it to the 
tender mercies of the pursuer. 
This diving and the immediately-following assault were con- 
stantly going on, amid harsh cries and scurryings round and 
round, making a most interesting scene to the naturalist’s eye. 
In and out among the big Pacific gulls would dash the beautiful 
and fearless little silver gulls ( Laras Nova- Hoi l audio:) with their 
white throats and bosoms, silver grey wings, and pink bills and 
feet, forming a charming picture. Their larger brethren have 
somewhat of the skua about their appearance and habits, and 
their thick overhung beaks can deal a savage blow : in fact, 
only recently the Pacific gull in New Zealand has been accused 
of sheep-killing. The plumage varies greatly, that of the young 
