THE GULL, 
399 
which the sailor is sure to find wherever he goes, whether 
under the burning sun of the tropical regions, or the frozen 
icebergs of the Arctic circle, and always bearing the same 
restless, noisy character. They have been named, and justly 
so, the scavengers of the sea, for nothing comes amiss to 
their voracious appetite. Loathsome as may be the putre- 
fying carrion left on the beach, to the Gull it is just as 
acceptable as a meal on the finest and freshest fish. On 
either they will gorge almost to suffocation; and in that 
state may be taken up torpid and insensible. Some 
years ago, in riding with a friend on the sea- shore, we 
espied a Gull lying motionless on the sand, apparently dead ; 
but, as its eyes were open, life was clearly not extinct. 
Suspecting it to be a wounded bird, we alighted to examine 
the extent and nature of the injuries it had received; but 
not a drop of blood was to be seen, neither was a feather 
ruffled. After having, 
therefore, handled it 
for several minutes, 
without its evincing 
the slightest symp- 
toms of vitality, 
beyond the opening 
and shutting of its 
eyes, we threw it 
into the air, when, 
to our inconceivable 
surprise, the appa- 
rently dead bird ex- 
panded its wings, , The Black-Laclied G ull, 
and, tucking up its 
legs, flew off with the utmost composure and steadiness. 
Nature has amply provided them with means for their 
wandering lives. While the Cormorant is pent up in his 
cavern, and most of the other sea-birds are driven to their 
rocks and crags, during heavy gales, it matters as little to the 
Gull as to the Gannet, that the weather be fair or foul. Cold 
has no effect upon him, provided as he is with a thick coat 
