Sept., 1905 | AMONG THE SEA BIRDS OFF THE OREGON COAST, PART T 
125 
equilibrium and at the same time, reach forward with his foot and scratch his ear. 
But what is beauty, if it is only skin deep? A gull is not The white- 
winged angel that the poet sees. A gull, in his own country, will steal like 
a politician and murder like a pirate. They swarmed about us like'vultures 
after a battle. The minute our approach drove a murre or cormorant 
from its nest, the saintly-looking scalawags swooped down to eat the eggs and 
young. The gulls are freebooters and robbers on the island, but it is only when 
the other birds are frightened from their nests that they have a chance to carry out 
their nefarious trade. Eternal vigilance is the price the cormorants and murres pay 
for their eggs and young. Their possessions are never left for an instant without a 
guard unless on account ot a person. But the fittest manage to survive on the 
rock, and these gulls are the most useful birds to man in the bays and rivers about 
the water-fronts of our cities. They are valuable as scavengers and should be 
protected in every way possible. Three of them are equal to a buzzard. Ten of 
these gulls are equal to a pig. 
The gull picks out a comfortable 
spot and builds a respectable nest, 
and that is about the only creditable 
thing he does on the rock. The 
grass-covered roof of the island is his 
favorite nesting place, although many 
select the niches in the bare rock on 
the face of the cliff. The gull’s eggs 
lie right out in the open and never 
seem to be bothered by other birds; 
they, themselves, do not ravage the 
homes of their own kindred. The 
eggs are of dull earthy and chocolate- 
brown tints, with darker blotches, 
matching their surroundings so per- 
fectly, that we had to be constantly 
on the lookout to keep from stepping 
on them. When the eggs were 
hatched, we found the nestlings were 
protected by equally deceptive 
clothes of a mottled grey color. 
The old gulls were very solicitious 
for their young. The minute you go 
about their homes, they hover over 
you with loud, warning calls, watch- 
ing every move you make. They teach their young to keep hidden and to lie 
close. 1 have seen more than one gull impress this upon her children. One day 
I was walking along a ledge and came abruptly to a place where 1 could look 
down the top slope. Below me a few yards, I saw two half-grown gulls; one 
crouched beside a rock, but the other started to run down the ridge. He hadn’t 
gone two yards before the mother dove at him with a blow that knocked him roll- 
ing. He got up dazed, and struck ofif in a new direction, but she swooped again 
and rapped him on the bead till he seemed glad enough to crawl in under the 
nearest weed. 
Occasionally we found the gulls very pugnacious. There was one mother 
that had a nest of three young birds on a narrow ledge, and every time the pho- 
YOUNG GULL FEEDING 
Courtesy of The. Pacific Monthly 
