Jan., I9O7 AMONG THE GULLS ON KLAMATH LAKE I$ Altho there were at least five hundred pairs of gulls uesting so close together, yet housekeepiug was in no seuse a conmmual matter. The nests were within two or three feet of each other, but each pair of gulls had its owu home spot and the invasiou of that place by any other gull was the challenge for a fight. Several times we were the excited spectators of fights that were going on just outside our teut. I watched one old hen, who was very angry because she couldn't find her chicks. As one of her ueighbors lit near, she grabbed the tail of the intruder and gave it a sharp jerk. At that both birds grasped each other by the bill and a lively set-to followed. They pulled and tugged till suddenly the old heu let go and grabbed her opponeut by the neck and began shakiug and hanging ou with all the teu- acity of a bull pup, till the intruder got euough and de- parted. leaving the victor with a mouthful of feathers. Ahnost nil the eggs lind hatched aud some of the youug gulls were about growu. By watching the actions of the parents, I soou discovered that their greatest auxiety seemed '? to be to keel) their childreu crouching low in the uest so ">. they xvould not ruu away and get lost in the crowd. I saw a one young gull start to run i' off thru the reeds, lint lie hadu't goue a yard before the '?' '.?-' k ? ? ?" ? -*'1? mother dived at hini with a blow that sent him rolling. _..'4,.?.?,. ' . ,? ?, He got Ul) dazed and started ? . . .? ,--,,.?..... T' ? off in a new directiou, but she
' ?, rapped him again (m the head
, : ' ?.. ? till he was glad to crouch down ?,? ? ., ? in the dry reeds. ? The 1)arents seemed to ADUI.T AND OI'NG CALIFORNIA GUI, LS recognize their OIVII chicks PHOTOGRAPHED FRO1M BLIND largely by location. Several times I saw old birds pounce upon youngsters that were running about. and beat theui unmerciftfily-. It seemed to be as much the duty of a gull mother to beat her neighbor's children, if they didn't stay home, as to whip her own if they moved out of the nest, but often this would lead to a rough and tumble figlit among the old birds. Sometimes a yonng gull would start to swim off in the water, hut it uever went far before it was potmeed upou aud driven back shoreward. Altho we had an excellent chanee to study gull life from our blind, yet we found little pleastire in it at the time. The sun was peltlug hot and there was not the faintest moveinent in the sultry atmosphere. We had to breathe the foulest kind of air on account of the dead birds and decaying fish scattered about, and we were standiug iu a muck that was continually miring deeper. Swarms of flies aud
