Ornithological biography, Vol. 3 (of 5)

by John James Audubon

Shy and wary nearly in as great a degree as the Black-backed Gull, they were with difficulty obtained, unless we approached them under cover. The least noise made them instantly leave their perch, and although there were six of us, each furnished with a good gun, and some sufficiently expert, not more than a dozen were killed that day, and all of them while flying. The moment one started, it would sound an alarm, on which hundreds would rise and sail over us, at such a height that it was useless to shoot at them. Now and then, one accidentally passing low over the woods, was brought down. While returning in the evening we shot one at a great height, having merely broken the tip of its wing. Having caught it, we placed it on the narrow path, on which it ran before us nearly to the house of the Governor, as Captain Frankland is called. It offered no resistance, but bit severely, and now and then lay down to rest for a few moments. It ran fast enough to keep several yards before us, cackling all the while, and once suddenly made off from the path at a rapid rate.

Their flight is as strong as that of the Great Black-backed Gull, but more buoyant as well as graceful. During the love season their aërial evolutions are extremely beautiful; they pass through the air in wide circlings, at a great height, and then come down in curious zigzags until near the tops of the trees, or the surface of the sea. While in pursuit of fish, they dart in curved lines with great rapidity, frequently wheeling suddenly when over their prey, and falling towards it. When travelling, they pass indifferently over the land or the water, but generally at a considerable height. Their food consists principally of herrings, of which they destroy great numbers, following the shoals. They also feed on other fishes of small size, shrimps, crabs, and shell-fish, as well as on young birds and small quadrupeds, and suck all the eggs they can find. The rocky shores of the islands on which I found them breeding are covered with multitudes of sea-urchins, having short greenish spines, which give them the semblance of a ball of moss. At low water the Herring Gulls frequently devour these animals, thrusting their bill through the shell, and sucking its contents. They also take up shells in the air, and drop them on the rocks to break them. We saw one that had met with a very hard mussel, take it up and drop it three times in succession, before it succeeded in breaking it, and I was much pleased to see the bird let it fall each succeeding time from a greater height than before. They seem to go out to sea in search of food at particular periods, setting out at the first ebb and returning to the shore as the tide rises.

The young are at first fed chiefly with shrimps and other small crustacea, which are picked up from the mud-bars or along the shores. They are then of a deep rusty colour all over, and when fully feathered they retain a good deal of that hue, but the feathers are edged with light grey or brown; the feet and legs are of a greenish-blue colour, inclining to purple; the bill dusky or nearly black. In spring they acquire their full size, but still retain the grey and rusty plumage. The next year they shew much light ash-grey and white about the head, neck, and lower parts, the orange spot appears on the bill, the feet and legs are flesh-coloured, the tail still partially banded towards the extremity. At this age, however, I believe they breed, as I observed some coloured in the manner described, mated with older birds. The third spring they acquire the colouring represented in the plate.

I found no other species breeding on the same islands. Old and young associate together all the year round, excepting during the breeding season, when the latter separate and pursue their avocations together. The cry or cackling of this species, which is heard at a considerable distance, may be imitated by pronouncing the syllables hac, hac, hac, cah, cah, cah.

The Herring Gull has a greater range of migration along our coast and in the interior than any other American species. I have found it on our great lakes, and on the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi, down to the Gulf of Mexico, during the autumnal months, and in winter along the shores of the latter, and all our eastern coasts. It may be said to be resident in the United States, as it breeds from off Boston to Eastport in Maine; but the greater number go farther north. We found the nests of some on the bare rocks of the Seal Islands off Labrador, but not on the coast itself. They were composed of dry plants and moss brought from the mainland. The birds kept by themselves, and appeared to be completely mastered by the Great Black-backed Gulls. On our return we saw old and young on the northern coast of Newfoundland, and on the different bays over which we passed.

I have represented an adult male, but not one of the largest, and a young bird shot in winter, which I have placed on a bunch of Racoon oysters, where it was standing when shot.

Larus argentatus, Temm. Man. d’Ornith. part ii. p. 764.

Larus argentatus, Ch. Bonaparte, Synopsis of Birds of the United States, p. 360.

Larus argentatoides, Ibidem.

Adult Male in spring. Plate CCXCI. Fig. 1.