52 CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 



Kittiwake can at once be distinguished by the 

 blackish feet and the absence of a hind toe. It is, 

 with the exception of the Little Gull, with vermilion 

 feet and the head and neck deep black in breeding- 

 plumage, the smallest of the Gull tribe. It may 

 usually be found where the coast line is rugged with 

 precipitous cliffs, and also where islands of that 

 character exist. 



The Bass Rock and Flamborough Head are 

 noted places for these birds, and Howard Saunders 

 says . "In the Orkneys and the Shetlands thousands 

 of birds whiten the precipices." 



The nesting-habit of this species is entirely 

 confined to the cliffs, for, so far as I know, they 

 never breed on the ground like the Common, 

 Lesser, and Greater Black- Backed, or even the 

 Herring-Gull. They are late breeders ; and I note 

 the lament of some ornithologfical writers in reg"ard 

 to the destruction of these birds for plumes for 

 ladies' hats, thousands being wantonly slaughtered 

 for this purpose, an object, in my humble opinion, 

 which does not justify the act in any way whatever, 

 still less the cruelty with which it was often 

 attended, the wings being frequently torn from 

 wounded birds. 



During one of my visits to Salen Hotel, Mull, 

 I took my old boat at the village of Gribun, and 

 sailed out into the Atlantic to an island already 

 mentioned in connection with the Puffin case. It 

 was a beautifully calm day, the sea like glass, with 

 only an occasional puff of wind— barely enough 



