THE HERRING GULL. 
UST how many species of Gulls 
there are has not yet been 
determined, but the habits 
and locations of about twenty- 
six species have been described. The 
American Herring Gull is found 
throughout North America, nesting 
from Maine northward, and westward 
throughout the interior on the large 
inland waters, and occasionally on the 
Pacific ; south in the winter to Cuba 
and lower California. This Gull is a 
common bird throughout its range, 
particularly coast-wise. 
Col. Goss in his " Birds of Kansas," 
writes as follows of the Herring Gull : 
"In the month of June, 1880, I 
found the birds nesting in large com- 
munities on the little island adjacent 
to Grand Manan ; many were nesting 
in spruce tree tops from twenty to 
forty feet from the ground. It was an 
odd sight to see them on their nests 
or perched upon a limb, chattering 
and scolding as approached. 
" In the trees I had no difficulty in 
finding full sets of their eggs, as the 
egg collectors rarely take the trouble 
to climb, but on the rocks I was un- 
able to find an egg within reach, the 
' eggers ' going daily over the rocks. 
I was told by several that they yearly 
robbed the birds, taking, however, but 
nine eggs from a nest, as they found 
that whenever they took a greater 
number, the birds so robbed would 
forsake their nests, or, as they ex- 
pressed it, cease to lay, and that in 
order to prevent an over-collection they 
invariably drop near the nest a little 
stone or pebble for every egg taken." 
The young Gulls grow rapidly. 
They do not leave their nesting 
grounds until able to fly, though half- 
grown birds are sometimes seen on the 
water that by fright or accident have 
fallen. The nests are composed of 
grass and moss. Some of them are 
large and elaborately made, while 
others are merely shallow depressions 
with a slight lining. Three eggs are 
usually laid, which vary from bluish- 
white to a deep yellowish brown, 
spotted and blotched with brown of 
different shades. In many cases where 
the Herring Gull has suffered persecu- 
tion, it has been known to depart from 
its usual habit of nesting on the open 
seashore. 
It is a pleasure to watch a flock of 
Gulls riding buoyantly upon the water. 
They do not dive, as many suppose, 
but only immerse the head and neck. 
They are omnivorous and greedy 
eaters ; " scavengers of the beach, and 
in the harbors to be seen boldly alight- 
ing upon the masts and flying about 
the vessels, picking up the refuse mat- 
ter as soon as it is cast overboard, and 
often following the steamers from 
thirty to forty miles from the land, 
and sometimes much farther. They 
are ever upon the alert, with a quick 
eye that notices every floating object 
or disturbance of the water, and as they 
herald with screams the appearance of 
the Herring or other small fishes that 
often swim in schools at the surface of 
the water, they prove an unerring pilot 
to the fishermen who hastily follow 
with their lines and nets, for they 
know that beneath and following the 
valuable catch in sight are the larger 
fishes that are so intent upon taking 
the little ones in out of the wet as> 
largely to forget their cunning, and 
thus make their capture an easy one.. 
Very large flocks of Gulls, at times; 
appearing many hundreds, are seen on 
Lake Michigan. We recently saw in 
the vicinity of Milwaukee a flock of 
what we considered to be many 
thousands of these birds, flying swiftly, 
mounting up, and falling, as if to 
catch themselves, in wide circles, the 
sun causing their wings and sides to 
glisten like burnished silver. 
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