. Bird lore . MARSH AT COBBS ISLAND. SHOWING LAUGHING GULLS ON THEIR NESTS IN THE DISTANCE The Bird-Life of Cobbs Island 113 itself nearly invisible on a bit of sand, where there is no object with whichit might be confused, is especially striking. In the newly hatched young themandibles are of equal length and the characteristic prolonged lower man-dible does not appear to be fully grown until after the bird takes may be considered as evidence that this specialized character has beendeveloped late in the history of the species, or it may be a correlation ingrowth which defers the per
. Bird lore . MARSH AT COBBS ISLAND. SHOWING LAUGHING GULLS ON THEIR NESTS IN THE DISTANCE The Bird-Life of Cobbs Island 113 itself nearly invisible on a bit of sand, where there is no object with whichit might be confused, is especially striking. In the newly hatched young themandibles are of equal length and the characteristic prolonged lower man-dible does not appear to be fully grown until after the bird takes may be considered as evidence that this specialized character has beendeveloped late in the history of the species, or it may be a correlation ingrowth which defers the perfection of an organ until it can be successfullyemployed. Certainly without ability to fly a Skimmer could not skim, aswith the longer lower bill cutting the water it takes food from the LAUGHING GULL ON NEST Until, therefore, the bird can fly its bill enables it to pick up such objectsalong the shore as might be desirable for food. From my blind among the Skimmers I could look out over the marshwhere the Laughing Gulls nested. In the morning light the breasts ofthese birds turned toward the east looked like great white flowers withwhich the marsh was dotted. They were photographed without difficultyby erecting bundles of grass on tripods near their nests one evening andreplacing them with grass-covered cameras the following morning. Ex-posures were made with a thread run to the blind (which now was madeto do duty as a musk-rats nest) a hundred and fifty feet away. The firstGull returned to its nest within five minutes after the photographicapparatus was arranged. An A. O. U. warden on Cobbs Island protects the birds from man. 114 Bird-Lore but is powerless to preserve them from what, in the end, may prove afar more disastrous enemy. To kill the meadow mice which dest
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectorn
