x4 THE CONDOR VOL. IX the gull, but raftess in some way we could hide near at haud this was simply i?n- possible, for the whole colony of birds weut frantic whenever we approached their nests and young. To overcome this difficulty, we had brought a bliud, specially built for the purpose. We had secured au old wagou mubrella of dark-green color. Then taking a long piece of green cauvas, we had sewed hooks along the edge about eighteen iuches apart, and when these were hooked iu at the end of each rib, we had the sides hauging down all arouud, making a covered tent, in which we could hide with our eau]eras. The next morning we pulled down below the gull colony and lauded uuder cover of the high rules. Here we erected the blind and got underueath with our cameras. Then, holding up the umbrella, we began slowly edging toward the rookery. It is hard to say just what the gulls thought this queer-looking object was; they could see no legs, no head, but still it moved. Whereas the day before they had gone wild at our approach, now they paid little atteutiou to the green thing that blended fairly well with the greeu rules, eveu tho it gradually approached closer and closer. After nmneuvering for almost an hour, we reached COLONXx ' OF RING-BILLED AND CALIFORNIA GULLS ON TULE ISLAND IN LOVqER IKLAl?IATlt LAKE the edge of the colony and planted our blind by driving the exteusiou handle of the umbrella into the mud. Some of the pareuts regarded the green tent with suspicion, backing off or rising to circle around where they could get a full view. But it was uot long before tile blind seenled to pass as part of tile sceuery and we were sur- rounded on all sides by the snow-pluumged birds coufing and going, and paylug little or no atteution to us as we peered out or poiuted our cameras thru the loop- holes we cut iu the canvas.
