The Heermann Gull 
Taken in Santa Barbara Photo by the Author 
A GRACEFUL LOITERER 
which set the nerves a-tingling, but which itself gave way to a screeching 
autumnal hue, before one could analyze the ecstasy. Another mood was 
palest amethyst, or virgin violet, subtle beyond the spell of words. This 
I saw in bewildering succession and ecstatic repetition, and seized my 
notebook, the while—Sir Gull he took a nap. 
This bird might perhaps be more accurately named the Kelp Gull, 
for it is in the kelp-beds, so abundant off our shores, that it finds its 
congenial home and feeding ground. Ensnared in the meshes of the 
plant are many bits of wreckage, mill-waste, or pieces of driftwood, upon 
which the gulls are fond of riding. Here, too, the gulls find shrimps, 
which, according to Linton, form an important element in heermanni 's 
bill of fare. The bird is fond also of the smaller fish, and earns its rests 
by agility here. As Anthony says: “When herring are swimming in 
compact schools near the surface both Heermann’s and Western Gulls 
secure them by approaching the school from behind and flying near the 
surface of the water, making repeated quick dips into the school. The 
fish seek safety in the depths the instant anything occurs to alarm them, 
but soon return to the surface, so that the gulls by stalking them from the 
rear are enabled to approach quite near before the fish are alarmed. As 
soon as the limits of the school have been passed, the gull, rising higher 
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