THE HERRING-GULL 
297 
The voice of this Gull is not melodious; and 
some persons call it harsh and strident. But 
opinions differ, even on as small a matter as 
the voice of a Gull. I never yet heard the cry 
of a wild gull, either on the booming sea-shore, 
or over the silvery mirror of an inland lake, 
which was not music to my ears. 
In captivity the Gull is badly handicapped. 
With the primaries of one wing clipped to 
prevent escape, and without the power of flight, 
two enterprising Gulls decided to nest and rear 
a family. Accordingly they built a nest under 
a bush which stood on a point of the island, in a 
position that strategically was well chosen for 
purposes of defence. The two birds made a 
very wise division of the labor. The female 
built the nest, laid the eggs and hatched them, 
and the male did the screaming and fighting 
that was necessary to protect the family from 
molestation. 
THE HERRING-GULL (1, 2) AND COMMON TERN (3, 4). 
it is not seen at its best; for no Gull is perfect 
save in flight. Our flock is continuallly shriek- 
ing protests against unlawful detention, and 
with perfect wings every one would quickly 
fly away, as did those bred in the park and reared 
to adolescence with perfect wings. We tried 
to colonize them, but once away they never came 
back. 
In an enclosure which embraced a pond and 
an island inhabited by about twenty Gulls, 
twelve Canada geese, and a few other birds, 
Never was there a more bonnie fighter than 
that male bird. During that whole nesting- 
period, lasting from April 1 to May 15, he either 
bluffed or fought to a stand-still everything 
that came within ten feet of that nest. Before 
his defiant and terrifying screams, and his 
threatening beak and wings, no other Gull 
could stand for a moment. When a Canada 
goose crossed his dead-line, the Gull would rush 
at him, seize him by the nearest wing, wing- 
beat him, and hang on like a bull-dog, regard- 
