Three Arch Rock Reservation. 
II.—Gull Habits. 
In exploring the island we found the only 
path to the top was by working along from 
ledge to ledge. This was rather difficult in 
places. Just above our tent was a wall twelve 
feet high that had to be scaled with a rope or 
long pole. Crawling along through the two 
murre rookeries under the overhanging rocks, 
we ascended a slippery place to the next colony. 
At that point there was a projecting knob where 
we could look straight over the drop for a hun¬ 
dred and fifty feet and around which w’e had 
to edge our way. Above that the rock was 
broken and crumljly; up it we scrambled, climb¬ 
ing from one cormorant nest to another till we 
reached the slope and then clambered on up the 
pinnacle of the rock. 
Near the top, on the south side of the rock, 
the ledges are half rotten and worn. At this 
place the photographer faced one of the most 
difficult problems. The descent is steep and 
rapid from the top for about forty feet, and 
then slides over the belly of the rock. The first 
time I looked over the edge down the jagged 
fangs of the bluff to the surf-cauldron trvo hun¬ 
dred feet below it gave me sensations that make 
me shiver yet. My first impulse—and I fol¬ 
lowed it up—was to crawl back to a six-foot 
level patch, spread out and grasp the ground 
firmly w'ith both hands. 
Up and down the ridge of the rock is the 
great colony of Brandt’s cormorants (Plialacro- 
cora.v penicillatus), the only “shag” found on 
the outer rock. Their nests are scattered over 
a hundred yards only a few feet apart. I 
counted four hundred nests in this one colony. 
1 hey were built up in funeral pyre fashion, 
some a foot or more above the surface, from 
the debris of Successive generations, grass and 
sea weed, fish, bones and the disgorged remains 
of past banquets. In every nest were four or 
five eggs of a skim-milk bluish tint over which 
seemed some amateur wffiite-washer had smeared 
a chalky surface. 
The different nests that we found on these 
rocks may be divided into three classes: grass 
nests, burrow nests and nests that were no nests 
at all. Under the first group would come the 
Western gull (Larus occidenfalis) and three 
kinds of cormorants—Brandt, Baird (Phalacro- 
corax pclagicus resplendens), and the Farallone 
(Phalacrocorax diloplms albociliahis). In the 
second class would come the tufted puffin 
(Lunda cirrhata), Kaeding petrel (Oceano- 
droma kaedingi), and forked tail petrel 
{Occanodroma furcata). Those having no nest 
at all are the California murre (Uria troile cali- 
farnica), and the pigeon guillemot (Cepphus 
columba). Of the last bird we found but a 
few pairs nesting. The forked tail petrels were 
rather rare on the rock where we camped, but 
more common on the middle rock where they 
nested among the Kaeding petrels. We saw a 
few pair of black oyster catchers (Haemafopus 
bachniaiii) nesting about the ledges. There 
were no ashy petrels or Cassin auklets, as on 
the Farallones. 
One of the prettiest sights about the rock 
was the gulls that filled the air like so many 
snow flakes. Their immaculate white bodies 
and soft pearl-gray wings tipped with black are 
as catching as music strains wafted over the 
river. I liked to watch them because they were 
masters of the air. There was a constant ad¬ 
justment of the wings to meet every air current 
that swept the rock, but in a steady breeze the 
movement was too slight to see and they hung 
as motionless as if painted in the blue. They 
tacked straight into the teeth of the wind. T 
saw one retain a perfect equilibrium and at the 
same time reach forward with its foot and 
scratch its ear. 
But what is beauty if it is only skin deep? 
A gull in his own country will steal like a poli- 
GULL CHICKS HIDING AGAINST THE ROCKS. 
tician and murder like a pirate. They swarmed 
about us like vultures after a battle. The 
minute our approach drove a murre or cor¬ 
morant from its nest, the saintly-looking scala¬ 
wags swooped down to eat the eggs and young. 
The gulls are freebooters and robbers on the 
island, but it is only when the other birds are 
frightened from their nests that the gulls have 
a chance to carry on thffir nefarious trade. 
Eternal vigilance is the price the cormorants 
and murres pay for their eggs and young. 
These are never left for an instant without a 
guard unless on account of the presence of a 
person. But the fittest manage to survive on 
the rocks, and these gulls are the most useful 
birds to man about the bays and rivers as 
scavengers and should be protected in every 
possible way. Three of them are equal to a 
buzzard; ten of them are equal to a pig. 
The gull picks out a comfortable spot and 
builds a respectable looking nest, and that is 
about the only creditable thing he does on the 
rock. The grass-covered summit is their 
favorite nesting place, although many select the 
niches in the bare rock on the face of the cliff. 
The gull’s eggs lie out in the open and never 
seem to be bothered by other birds; they them¬ 
selves do not ravish the homes of their own 
kindred. The eggs are of dull earthy and choco¬ 
late-brown tints with darker blotches, matching 
their surroundings so perfectly that we had to 
be constantly on the lookout to keep from step¬ 
ping on them. When the eggs were hatched we 
found the nestlings were protected by equally 
deceptive coverings of a mottled' gray color. 
They lie so closely among the gray rocks that 
only an observant eye detects them. If they can¬ 
not crawl into a crevice to hide they squat close 
and shove their heads in out of sight. In the 
green grass on the northern slope the color does 
not match so well. There it is very amusing to 
watch the little ones try to hide ostrich-like by 
thrusting their heads into a tuft of grass with 
their bodies in plain view. 
The old gulls are very solicitous for their 
j'oung. The minute you go about their homes 
they hover over you with loud warning calls, 
watching every move you make. They teach 
their young to keep hidden and to lie close. I 
have seen more than one gull impress this upon 
her young. One day I was walking along a 
ledge and came to a place where I could look 
down the top slope. Below me a few yards I 
saw tw'o half growm gulls, one crouched beside 
the rock, but the other started to run down the 
ridge. He had not gone two yards before the 
mother dove at him with a blow that knocked 
him rolling. He got up dazed and struck off in 
a new direction, but she swooped again and 
rapped him on the head till he seemed glad 
enough to crawl in under the nearest weed. 
Occasionally we found the gulls very pug¬ 
nacious. There was one mother that had a nest 
of three young birds on a narrow ledge and 
every time the photographer approached her nest 
she would dart at him. She swooped at his 
head with a bark something like a watch dog; 
at six or eight feet she dropped her legs and 
gave him a sharp clip with her feet. Twice she 
knocked the cap from the intruder’s head. We 
tried several times to catch her picture, but were 
only partially successful. It was not a nice ex¬ 
periment to try on a ledge that broke off so 
abruptly. 
Gulls are gregarious and enjoy each other’s 
society. They are fond of sitting in groups 
along the shore, bathing and preening their 
feathers. While in camp on the beach we 
watched them come hourly in flocks to a certain 
place where a fresh water stream ran down over 
the sands. Here they drank, sat around for 
an hour like working men at noon time, and 
departed, while others came in to take their 
places. They acted as if they had prearranged 
plans, certain hours about the rock and a time 
for rest. 
I have often seen the Western herring gull 
show his sagacity. On several occasions I 
watched him open clams and mussels at the sea 
shore. His bill is unfitted for crushing the hard 
shell. I saw one gull grasp a clam in his bill, 
rise to a height of thirty feet and drop it to 
the hard sand and gravel below. He followed 
