bosphorus

A gull came up and held steady, white all over with black-tipped wings, quivering a little in the changing wind. A woman came running to the window breaking a piece of simit, and offered it up. After a long consideration of her the gull took it, swooping in an angle from above, encountering difficulty while snatching the bread. Why couldn’t he drop lower and come in horizontal? Several people rushed to join the lady, stretching out to the bird, who took his time to accept each offer, his beak failing him sometimes, on which occasions he fell and went in a smart reverse and picked the crumb off the water.