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[[circle]] 157 [[/circle]]

[[underline]] modestus [[/underline]], Dec. 1, 1955, II.

[[image - three triangles with red marks above them]]

[[image - male symbol]] V - HF - V, [[image - female symbol]] V - HF - HF - HF - V [[image - male symbol]] Gost - V; [[image - female symbol]] V Both V + HF

There are quite a number of attacks delivered without any preliminary display; but relatively much fewer than in the Inca Tern.

The [[image - male symbol]]'s near are having considerable trouble regurgitating food for their females. There is a juv. Kelp Gull who keeps trying to horn in whenever the food starts to appear, (long before it even reaches ground!).

[[image - circle with male symbol]] O = advanced sexual ie pre-cop behavior. V - Gost - V - M - M + M note - M - T - V - T - T - H 18T's from 1H, + 1HF. 13 T's from 2 M's + 1 H. 11 T's from H.

[[image - circle with female symbol]] V - 12 T's - V + HF - 23 T's - V - 16 T's - V. 18 T's from 3 H's. 4 T's. T - T - T - T- V + HF - T - T - T - T - T - V + HF - T. V - SS - SS - SS - V - T - V - T - SS - SS - SS - V - HF - V - T - T - V - T - V - T - V - T - V - SS - V - redirection attack - V - escape - V - SS - V - T - T - T - V - SS - V - SS - V - T - V

Most of these birds are semi-territorial, in the sense that they tend to stay and return to the same sites (over a period of hours at least). But most of them show very little territorial defense. Seem to be content if an approaching bird maintains its individual distance, It is certainly my impression that this species is much less aggressive than some others I have worked with. This may be due to the circumstances; (i e. the fact that this is a semi-communal area), but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were due to some relative weakness of the attack drive, perhaps even a weakness of the internal factors of the drive. The escape drive seems to be correspondingly weak. (But, I should add that this species does not convey the slow, indifferent, phlegmatic, impression that the Herring Gull or the Kelp Gull do. It is quick and active).

The only really aggressive bird I have seen was A. He was defending a "real" territory, and he seemed quite as irritable, and as prone to redirection aggressiveness, as most Franklin's Gulls and Black-headed Gulls.

[[image - one triangle with red mark]] [[image - male symbol]] V - HF - V - [[underline]] Ch [[/underline]] - V + SS - Gost - V - pr - V; [[image - female symbol]] V - HF - V - SS - V

The above Ch posture was quite the "normal" larine type. Body quite tilted, legs only slighty bent, neck somewhat extended, up + down head movements [[image - gull with head bent]]