. Cassell's natural history . THE COMMON firi,I,.t The Gulls are natives of every shore from north to soutli. IMant says truly :— ■Oil iiiiiilik wiiip: the f^ullSweeps boomiiif; by, intent to cull, • Vonicioiis, fVoiu the billows breast,MavkM fur away, his destined ieasl :Beliukl him now, deep plunging, dipHis sunny pinions sable tipIn the green wave ; now lightly skimWith wheeling tlight the waters brim,Wave in blue sky his silver sailAloft, and frolic with the gale,Or sink again his breast to lave,And Hoat upon the foaming wave :Oft oer his form your eyes may roan\Xor know him from the feath
. Cassell's natural history . THE COMMON firi,I,.t The Gulls are natives of every shore from north to soutli. IMant says truly :— ■Oil iiiiiilik wiiip: the f^ullSweeps boomiiif; by, intent to cull, • Vonicioiis, fVoiu the billows breast,MavkM fur away, his destined ieasl :Beliukl him now, deep plunging, dipHis sunny pinions sable tipIn the green wave ; now lightly skimWith wheeling tlight the waters brim,Wave in blue sky his silver sailAloft, and frolic with the gale,Or sink again his breast to lave,And Hoat upon the foaming wave :Oft oer his form your eyes may roan\Xor know him from the feathery foam,Nor mid the rolling waves, your earOn yelling blast, his clamour hear. Clotlicd in a mass of elose feathers, these birds appear larger tliaii tliey in reality are, asscon on ample slowly-flapping pinions, sailing along in a eircling course, and fully intenton the waves beneath. • t ( THE COMMON SKUA. This bird is the largest and most remarkable of the Gulls. The skua inhabitsthe arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America, and is very abundant in the Orknejsand Shetland Isles, breeding in communities upon Foidah, Unst, and Ronas Hill, inifainland. It is a rare and occasional visitor in the southern part of Great Britain. It is not merelj- bold, but ferocious in the breeding season. Selby says : It will at thattime attack even man, without hesitation, should he happen to approach the site of its nest;and so impetuous is its attack, that the natives of the Shetland Isles are compelled, onsuch occasions, to defend themselves by holding up a knife or sharp stick, on which theassailant has been fi-equently known to transfix and kill itself, whilst making poimces onthe head of the intruder. Dogs, foxes, and other animals are instantly attacked, and soseverely dealt with by the wings and beak of the strong, pugnacious skua, as to be soondriven to a hasty retreat, and no
Size: 1645px × 1519px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1854
