16 T HED AU DiU°B ON BU Teleeiae 
sand far from any hard surface. He fiies down eagerly, hunts for the 
fracture in the shell, appears to puzzle over its absence, and picking up the 
bivalve repeats the sand drop. This partly shatters your thought that the 
act is motivated by intelligence. The gulls you observe, however, do not 
drop a single shell into the water. All are dropped on land and the majority 
on the road. Perhaps the road is a symbol of danger to some birds. They 
shy from passing cars, but almost completely ignore hikers or cyclists. 
This short study of an hour yields no conclusive observations, but you 
find it is enjoyable to make them anyhow. The shell cracking behavior is 
probably a result of the power of imitation most birds possess. The young 
or newly arrived gull observes the “goings on” of the shell crackers and 
eventually learns to imitate them. A kind of “peck order” is also noted. 
One large gull stays perched on the road shoulder and with each nearby 
drop proceeds to scare off the bombardier and devour the spoils himself. 
It is a fascinating display the gulls put on for you that day — introduc- 
tion to the shell cracking phenomenon could not happen on a more beautiful 
day or place than along that lovely road on Martha’s Vineyard Island. 
—4741 N. Kilbourn Ave., Chicago 30 
Asked of a Mossycup Oak 
Do you 
miss the beauty 
of cedar waxwings, too, 
who failed to renew last year’s lease 
with you? 
Paging Miss Post... 
Who taught 
you your manners, 
cuckoo with silent throat... 
You eat, and fly, and leave no thank 
you note. 
Frame of Mind 
If I could frame a memory 
To hang upon the wall 
And share with all the gentle folk 
Who come my way to call, 
I think I'd frame the moment, 
To keep as souvenir, 
That I first held within my hand 
A newly hatched killdeer. 
—Emeline Ennis Kotula, 2949 S. Union Ave., Chicago 16 
