ABSTRACT
THE common gull belongs to the same family as the kite, hunting its prey equally in air and water, and producing eggs which are like those of hens. 1 There is another species of gull called carthates, black in hue; it plays havoc with fish, which it drives in confusion from their haunts and then devours. 2 3 Herring gulls, known in German as Meuen, Maaker among the Gotar, are larger than ducks and have short necks and feet, a grey colouring, amber eyes, and bills partly yellow, partly red. Their cry is an incessant mea, mea. They yearn to feed on human corpses, and for this reason they perch on and peck away at the bodies of sailors whose boats have been wrecked, or sunk in storms.
