The California Gull 
Taken in Mono County 
square miles, is a low- 
lying sharply-rolling 
expanse of stratified 
materials, chiefly vol¬ 
canic ash, sparsely 
covered with atriplex 
and other typically 
desert vegetation. The 
northern third of the 
island, however, is 
eruptive, the extreme 
tip being an almost im¬ 
passable welter of re¬ 
cently cooled lava of 
a reddish black color. 
Negit Island is anoth¬ 
er example of the 
same eruptive move¬ 
ment, and stands 
hard by, a grim red 
sentinel, fit only for 
the tenure of hardy 
sea fowl. 
Through the cour¬ 
tesy of the owner of 
Paoha, Mr. W. D. Mc¬ 
Pherson, who is trans¬ 
forming this desert 
principality into a 
model goat-farm, we 
were privileged to 
visit the two colonies 
of California Gulls on 
Paoha and the main colony on Negit. In the “lagoon colony” we found, 
on the 3rd day of June, 250 pairs of birds gathered upon the sloping banks 
of a small lagoon tributary to the lake. The birds rose as we approached 
but settled quickly and did not exhibit a great fear of our presence. It 
was a critical time in the gull calendar, for the eggs were hatching, and we 
felt impelled to make our reconnaissance as brief as possible. The sun 
was burning hot, and the birds had availed themselves as far as possible 
of the scanty cover of atriplex and artemisia in the location of their nests. 
The nests were in many instances mere shallow depressions in the earth, 
Photo by the A ulhor 
A HAUGHTY COPPER 
1406 
