The Bonaparte Gull 
Like most pygmies, 
the Bonapartes are very 
sociable creatures, and 
they not only foregather 
with their fellows to the 
number of thousands, 
but they associate more 
or less in flocks at all 
times, and are so often 
moved by common im¬ 
pulse that they merit 
the name‘‘Sea Pig¬ 
eons,” frequently ap¬ 
plied to them. In 
spring Bonaparte is the 
very devil of a fellow, 
and would be set down 
at sight as a lady-killer, 
were it not for the fact 
that his good wife, pres¬ 
ent or prospective, is 
similarly attired. You 
see, by way of prepara¬ 
tion for nuptials, this 
bird thrusts its head half 
way into a pot of black 
paint. And because the 
paint is very black (Oh, 
well, “plumbeous slate,” 
then; but that is black 
enough, surely) he shuts 
his eyes very tight and 
saves a space above and 
below untouched by the pigment. And then he, or she, bears upon the 
breast at this season a rosy blush, which alone would be enough to pro¬ 
claim the nearness of mating time. 
When the Bonapartes return, however, reaching, as they do, our 
northern borders late in July, they are doffing their black head gear, and 
they soon look as babyish and innocent as ever. 
Birds of this species have no liking for the steerage fare afforded by 
the cities, but they gather extensively upon the tide-flats, where they 
pursue marine worms and tiny crustaceans. They are not less fond ot 
Taken in Santa Barbara 
A WATERFRONT SPECIMEN 
Photo by the Author 
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