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Volume XVIII MarcH -April, 1916 Number 2 
SEA GULLS AT THE PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL 
EXPOSITION 
By JOSEPH MAILLIARD 
WITH TWENTY-ONE PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR 
S AN FRANCISCO BAY has long been known as a favorite wintering place 
for sea gulls, and several species are well represented upon its waters 
from early fall to late spring. In the course of years many individuals, 
of some of the larger varieties especially, have partially lost their natural fear 
of man, or perhaps it would be better to say have been greatly attracted by the 
feasts that mankind offers them, and have allowed their appetites to overcome 
their dread. Flocks of these gulls have been in the habit of following the vari- 
ous ferry and river boats on the bay (fig. 2) for the purpose of feeding upon 
the refuse thrown overboard from the lunch counters and restaurants, and 
some have grown so tame that they will not only endeavor to catch bits of 
bread thrown to them by passengers but have had so much practice that they 
are quite often successful when the bread is tossed high enough into the air 
(fig. 3). Occasionally one bolder than the rest will take a morsel from an out- 
stretched hand. 
The fishing boats that daily pass in and out of the Golden Gate frequently 
throw overboard old bait, or the cleanings of fish, and on such occasions are 
followed by clouds of clamorous gulls, so numerous that they look, at a dis- 
tance, like a swarm of bees. “Fishermen’s Wharf”, set apart for the use of 
the fishing boats, has long been a favorite gathering ground for these scaven- 
gers of the sea. In stormy or threatening weather it is a common sight in San 
Francisco to see gulls, singly or in flocks, sailing overhead, gracefully breast- 
ing the breeze, or flying across the peninsula from bay to ocean ; while in cul- 
tivated fields near the bay they are often to be found following the plow and 
gathering the fat angle-worms turned up in the moist soil. So the gulls have 
not been strangers to San Francisco’s people. But it was not until last fall 
