418 
Dutcher and Baily, Habits oj the Herring Gull. 
r Auk 
L Oct. 
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE LIFE HISTORY OF THE 
HERRING GULL (LARUS ARGENTATUS) IN 
THE UNITED STATES. 
BY WILLIAM DUTCHER AND WILLIAM L. BAILY. 
Plates XXI and XXII. 
The facts presented in this paper are the results of several 
visits to the large breeding colonies of Herring Gulls on the 
Maine coast, made at the following dates: by Mr. Dutcher, 1900, 
from June 28 to July 21 ; 1901, by both contributors, from June 12 
to 24; 1902, by Mr. Baily, from July 18 to 20 inclusive'. In 1900 
visits were made to nearly all of the colonies along the Maine 
coast by the senior contributor, commencing at the most westerly 
one on No-Man’s-Land Island, which is situated about seventeen 
miles south of Rockland, Maine, and adjoins the large island 
known as Matinicus. In 1901 eight days were spent at the light¬ 
house station on Great Duck Island, and subsequently nearly all 
of the other colonies were revisited by Mr. Dutcher. In 1902 Mr. 
Baily revisited the Great Duck Island colony later in the season, 
in order to observe the methods of feeding the young birds and 
the habits of the young. A description of the position and 
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end of the island nearly all the trees have been cut and the dead 
tops and branches, together with many large trunks, have been 
left among the stumps, making a tangle very difficult to penetrate. 
At the extreme southern point of the island the United States 
