where certain culls may be expected and then look for 
peculiarities among them so that he can tell them apart. 
For example, the commonest of the five kinds of gulls: : 
to be seen in Portland, Oregon, are the Glaucous-winged 
Gull, the Herring, and the California, and these same birds 
are spring and fall migrants as far as the Arctic regions. 
Then if a big gray and white gull drifts by west of the 
Cascades, that has no black on its wings, a watcher may 
decide it is a Glaucous-winged Gull, but if the black is there 
he must observe the color of feet and bill and the amount 
and place of white in the black wing-tips. The California — 
- Gull will have greenish-gray feet, a yellow bill adorned with 
one red and one black spot on each side, and a. two-inch 
white wedge on the front border of the black near the outer 
end of the wing, with tips of the feathers all white. The 
Herring Gull’s feet are rosy, its bill chrome color, and the 
tips of the wings are more black with the white spot not 
on the front edge of the wings but dec back of it on une 
second feather. ee 
_ Many of the cities of the Northwest, with their al 
harbors, margined by big docks, where huge masses of 
freight from all over the world are piled, long ago gave un- 
written invitations to the winged creatures of the high seas 
to come and live upon their bounty. Often these cities are 
adding to their level territory by refuse-dumps where the 
city garbage provides free lunch counters to healthy 
travelers. As the tides come and-go, thousands of flutter- 
ing wings lower their owners to the surface of the water, 
while sea birds snatch choice bits of food to satisfy their 
tremendous appetites. At the same time they do their part — 
in keeping up the high health record of the region by acting 
as city scavengers. They are reminders of the rag pickers 
of Paris, swarming over the trains that carry away the city’s 
waste, earning a fat living, like the gulls, with little effort. 
~ People who love to wander near the salt water edges — 
of the Northwest cities, can, in most seasons of the year, 
69 
