Gull
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Gull. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a family of aquatic birds closely allied to the tern. There are some fifty species. The gulls are found both on maritime and inland waters . They have webbed feet and rest much of the time on the water. When weary the gull tucks its head under its wing and sleeps, literally in the cradle of the deep, riding the waves like a ship. They feed chiefly on food floating on the surface. The ivory gull, pure white, seventeen inches long, spends much of its time amid the pack ice of Arctic seas. The kittiwake, so called from its cry, is a bird of the same size, with a blue-gray back and black-tipped primaries. In America it breeds from the St. Lawrence and northern Minnesota to the Arctic Ocean. The burgomaster is a large gull, twenty-eight inches long. The American herring gull, pearl gray above and white beneath, with black wing marks, breeds from Maine, Minnesota, and Puget Sound northward, wintering along the Central American, the South Atlantic, and Gulf coasts. Large numbers migrate by way of the Mississippi Valley. Gulls nest in colonies, chiefly on the ground or on rocky shores. Flocks follow ocean-going steamers 1,000 miles from land. The gull is not a suspicious bird, whence the term, "gullible," is not infrequently applied to persons easily taken in by sharpers. The gull is a characteristic feature of the sea shore. Holmes gives some delightful glimpses of gull habits in My Aviary. The gull, high floating, like a sloop unladen, Lets the loose water waft him as it will; I see the solemn gulls in council sitting On some broad ice-floe pondering long and late, The pale bird, kindling like a Christmas feaster When some wild chorus shakes the vinous air, Flaps from the leaden wave in fierce rejoicing, Feels heaven's dumb lightning thrill his torpid nerves, Now on the blast his whistling plumage poising, Now wheeling, whirling in fantastic curves. Such is our gull: a gentleman of leisure, Less fleshed than feathered; bagged you'll find him such; His virtue silence; his employment pleasure; Not bad to look at, and not good for much.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the English name of Larus, a genus of natatorial birds. They are widely distributed along the shores of the several seas and oceans, feeding voraheadlands, making a rude nest in which they lay from two to four eggs. Many of the species are migratory, and all are powerful of wing, which enables them to fly against a storm. They are slaughtered by thousands to provide plumes for ladies' hats. The flesh of the gull is rank and coarse, but that of the young birds is salted for winter use on many N. coasts. The eggs are much sought after for food. Gulls: (1) The sub-family Larinæ, one of three into which the family Laridæ is divided. It contains the genus Lestris (Skua), in addition to the (2) The family Laridæ. gulls it comprehends not only the gulls, but the It terns, petrels, etc.