. The water birds of North America [microform]. Birds; Water-birds; Oiseaux; Oiseaux aquatiques. ^^m â THE (JULLS AND TERNS â LAllUS. 215 line, fish being used as bait. It is ordinarily shy; but when allured by carrion ceases to be so, and even ajjpears to be indifferent to danger. It will then venture to enter the bays, and even inlanci waters. When feeding in company with other species, its ai)i)earance is peculiar f nd striking. Its bearing is grave, diguitied, and silent, this bird exhibiting none of the liveliness so characteristic of its tribe. When it Hii's it extends its wings
. The water birds of North America [microform]. Birds; Water-birds; Oiseaux; Oiseaux aquatiques. ^^m â THE (JULLS AND TERNS â LAllUS. 215 line, fish being used as bait. It is ordinarily shy; but when allured by carrion ceases to be so, and even ajjpears to be indifferent to danger. It will then venture to enter the bays, and even inlanci waters. When feeding in company with other species, its ai)i)earance is peculiar f nd striking. Its bearing is grave, diguitied, and silent, this bird exhibiting none of the liveliness so characteristic of its tribe. When it Hii's it extends its wings more than most of the genus do, and its flight is more liuovant. When not in quest of food it is shy and retiring, soars out of reach of the fdwling-pieee, and at intervals is heard to utter a hoarse scream â making a noise unlike that of any other species. This bird has none of the social affections so cliaracteristic of most Gulls and Terns, prompting them to hazard their own lives wluMi their kindred are in trouble; but when once alarmed it instantly flies off. Rev. W. Scoresby, in his account of the Arctic Eegions, refers to the Burgomaster as being the chief magistrate of the feathered tribe in the Spitzbergen llegion, where none of its class dare dispute its authority. It attends the whale-fishers, hovers over the scene of action ; and on its descent, the most dainty pieces must be relincjuished, even if already in the grasp of Fulmar Petrel, Ivory Gull, or Kittiwake. This bird scliloni alights on the water; and when it rests on the ice it selects a hummock and iixes itself on the highest point. Its eggs were found by jNIr. Scoresby on the beach of Spitzbergen, deposited in the same manner as those of a Tern, in dejiressions in the shingle just above high-water mark, and exposed to the full rays of the sun. Mr. MacFarlane found the Glaucous Gull breeding on islands in the Arctic Sea. In the sixteen nests in regard to which information is given, the eggs were three in l
Size: 1657px × 1507px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1884
