Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 1 (1843).djvu/272

244 success and continued peace, more to his character of invention than to his powers as a warrior.

The Masked Gull, (Larus capistratus).

The brown-headed or masked gull is easily kept in confinement. He was invited to change his diet, by having a few earth-worms scattered over a basin of boiled potatoes: by these means he always swallowed a small portion of vegetable food; and in a few days he devoured potatoes alone, with as much avidity as he did when they were mixed with worms. When a large dry lump of potato was met with, he never attempted to swallow it without first having recourse to the following manœuvre. He carried the unpalateable morsel in his beak, with head erect, to a channel of water, dropped it in, and having softened and reduced it to fragments, heartily enjoyed his potato. Occasionally also he stole away with a choice piece to a private corner, where he could eat his meal without being disturbed by his hungry companions. When sufficiently domesticated he was turned into a garden, where a friendship was quickly established between him and an old favorite, the lesser black-backed gull. A little chastisement from this tyrant taught him his proper place, and he soon found the necessity of always being second to visit the meat and water dish. In the evenings every flower-border was visited by both birds in quest of worms; and in these excursions the larger species always claimed precedence. But notwithstanding this advantage, his success was generally much inferior to that of his diminutive companion: for though priority of search secured him all the large earth-worms which were 1ying upon the surface, yet his greediness after the best prey caused him to overlook all the small worms and snails, which rarely escaped the quick-sighted skill of the masked gull. This feathered domestic was destined to have a short reign, for unfortunately, one day he wandered beyond his prescribed limits and was taken up by a boy, who, I afterwards learned, had kept him confined beneath a basket, where he refused all sustenance, and very soon died. This accident put an end to my observations on his change of plumage, for he was beginning