The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-06-07
GUlLS THAT ROAM
DER HILL AND
PRAIRIE
Birds Which Help Settlers of
Northwest-Follow Plow-
man and Eat Worms.
(Outing for April.)

rich, black soil has thaWed at the sur
face. the settler of the northwest
prairies goes forth to pillow. The warm
season is short and his tillage fast, so
he delays not for wind or storm. One
day he is as dark as coal HEAVIER,
when the strong winds which sweep
almost ceaselessly over the prairie
hurl upon him avalanches Of dust.
Next day, perchance, driving storm
OF wet snow, he turns black burrows
in the interminable white eXpanse. his
shaggy fur coat buttoned close around
him. Then comes day of warm sun
shine. when. as he plows. he is fol-
lowed by troupe of handsome birds,
which some might mistake for white
doves. Without sign of fear the alight
in the furrow close behind him, and,
with graceful carriage. hurry about to
pick up the worms and grubs which
the pillow has just unearthed. Often
have l watched the plowman and his
snowy retinue, and it appeals to ME
as one of the prettiest sights which
the prairies can afford. No wonder
that the lonely settler likes the dainty,
familiar bird. and, in friendly spirit,
calls it his prairie pigeon"
1t is indeed a beauty, a little larger
than a domestic pigeon, with white
plumage. save for the grayish mantle.
as 1t We're, on the back, the dark slaty
head and neck which make it appear to
wear hood. and the black-tipped
wings. 1t often passes very near, and
one can see that the white breast and
under parts have beautiful. delicate
rosy blush, which can be likened to
that of the peach blossom. In reality
it is no pigeon at all, but a gull, one
of several rosy-breasted gulls of the
northern regions-the Franklin's gull,
so named in honor of the arctic ex-
plorer, Sir John Franklin, or, as the
earlier writers called it, the Franklin's
rosy gull.
Not known to Audubon.
In Audubon's time few white men
had penetrated "the great American
desert" or seen the handsome, rosy
gull, whcih only recently DR.. Richard
son had discovered in the FUR coun-
tries" Audubon himself had never met
with it alive, and has no picture of it
in his great work, describing it from
the only two stuffed skins available,
brought from the Saskatchewan coun-
try, probably by some explorer or fur
trader. But now the billowy prairies
are settled, and thousands of farmers
know we'll the bird which the indefat-
igable ornithologist was then unable
to meet.
1t is no wonder that this bird is of
special interest in the region where it
is known. Its tameness and familiarity
are delightful, especially to those who
are isolated on remote claims in the
more newly settled parts. In album
dance, too. it is one of the few spe-
cies which could even suggest the
numbers. at times. of the lamented
wild or passenger pigeon, now all but
extinct. In the cold days of spring in
North Dakota have seen the air fair
ly full of them, settling in acres upon
the dark. cold prairie, as though
snowstorm were in progress. In one
case this was within a few miles of
where afterward found an enormous
breeding colony.
As Restless As the Winds.
Another attractive element about
this bird is its restlessness and mys-
tericusness. 1t is nearly always on the
move. Family comes the cries as of
distant flock of wild geese or a
pack of hounds. Louder and louder
grow the voices, and presently the I'M
dulating line appears and leisurely,
yet steadily, sweeps by, whittier bound
who can tell? Often have l wished
could follow and learn their secret.
But, wherever 1 might drive, l would
see their lines still on the move.
Where there is a marshy lake they
may often be seen, at times in large
numbers, lowering over the rushes or
grass. throwing up their wings to set
tie down, presently to come flutter-
ing UP again, parties frequently leav-
ing to straggle over the prairie, and
others arriving, probably passing to
and from their distant breeding
ground.
OF these unique birds but very little
has been known until within recent
years, and most OF the works on
ornithology have almost no informa-
ton to offer. They are not known to
winter in the southern states, mostly
west OF the Mississippi river. In April,
or as soon as the ice breaks up in
the lakes. they appear in the Dakotas
and surrounding regions, extending
their migration, as species, to the
arctic regions 1t was formerly sup
posed that they were altogether boz
real, but less than thirty years ago
they were discovered breeding in Man
itoba, and more recently were found
to do SO in Minnesota and North Da-
kota.
Great Bird Settles" in Wild Regions.
Each spring, in May. all the rosy
gulls of wide region somehow agree
able to resort to particular one of
various marshy lakes for the nurnose
of rearing their young. Just how
they decide the important question is
not for us humans to know. At any
rate, what they do select is a great
area OF grass, reeds or rushes grow
Ing out of the water, and there, out
of the abundance of dry stems, each
pair build a partly floating nest, side
by side with others-thousands upon
thousands of them.
1t should be known, as q matter of
practical interest to the western farm
er, that the prairie pigeon Is largely
insectivorous. It has been ascertained
to feed its young-in a Minnesota COL
ony, as investigated by DR.. T. 8. Rob-
erts-largely upon the nymph of the
dragonf1y, and no doubt upon any 9TH
er insects or larvae locally available.
Another favorite food little later in
the season is the dreaded grasshopper.
How often people say: "He's better
not do that again." We are always
whipped for doing 1t the first time.