The Ring-billed Gull 
been noted in a perfunctory way, but of its life history, its peculiarities, 
its individual flavor, there are none to speak. One suspects that the surest 
way to condemn a bird to obscurity is to dub it common. That epithet 
is a notice that its bearer is no longer worthy of consideration; and 
the amateur avoids it as he would an abandoned mine. 
There are, however, two fairly good reasons for this oversight in the 
case of the Ring-billed Gull in California. In the first place its appearance 
lacks distinctive character. The bird is obscure, nondescript, average, 
“mejum,” just gull. Even the supposedly distinctive character of the 
black band upon the beak is not easily made out at a distance. Many 
gulls, especially immature ones, have black upon the bill. In the second 
place—and this is the secret, I think—the Ring-bill is the wariest of 
our wintering gulls. His habitual exposure at the water’s edge has from 
time immemorial made him conscious of hostile notice. Hence it is that 
with the distant approach of a pilgrim on the strand, your Ring-bill gets 
uneasy and begins to edge off down the line, or else withdraws outright 
from the stupid company of Californias and Westerns. Thus the casual 
observer gets an impression of rarity which is belied by the facts. 
Taken on Lower Klamath Lake Photo by William L. Finley and Herman T. Bohlman 
A MIXED COLONY—RING-BILLED AND CALIFORNIA GULLS 
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