HERRING AND KITTIWAKE GULLS 55 



great robber, the male and his mate quartering the ground 

 " like a brace of pointers." I have known the nest to be 

 located two miles from the sea, but, in spite of the distance, 

 food was largely secured from the ocean. 

 Plumage. — Yellow bill; flesh-coloured legs and feet; rest of plumage 

 as in the case of the Lesser Black-Backed Gull. Length. — 

 Thirty inches. 



GULL, HERRING (Lams argentatus) 



Local Names. — Cat Gull, Goose Gull, Scorey, Silvery Gull, Yellow- 

 Legged Gull. 



Haunt. — Sea cliffs, saltings, large rivers near the sea, and mudflats. 



Nesting Period. — May and June. 



Site of Nest. — Ledges of rocks and grassy cliff -sides. 



Materials Used. — Seaweed and grasses. 



Eggs. — Three. Yellow to green or brown in ground colour, blotched 

 with ash-grey and dark brown. 



Food. — Fish (including herrings), carrion, insects, worms, eggs, and 

 young birds. 



Voice. — Mr. Hett compares the call to "ak-ak;" " cou-1-ooe; " 

 " hak-hak-hak " or " hau-hau-hau ; " "croak," and "pee 

 wheel;" alarm, " ky-eok " repeated several times, especially 

 when disturbed at nesting-places, not often otherwise. 



Chief Features. — Absence of black markings is worth noticing, the 

 grey plumage generally being a distinguishing feature, as well 

 as the size. Said by competent naturalists to perpetrate harm 

 among salmon smolts when latter are descending rivers in 

 May and June. 



Plumage. — All the Gulls in Britain, with the exception of the first 

 one on our list — the Black-Headed — have yellow bills or greenish- 

 yellow; the legs and feet of the Herring Gull are the same 

 colour as those of the Great Black-Backed ; grey mantle ; white 

 head, tail, and lower parts: outermost primaries black. 

 Length. — Twenty-four inches. 



GULL, KITTIWAKE (Rissa tridadyla) 

 Local Names. — Annet, Kittiwake, Tarrock (immature), Waeg. 

 Haunt. — Rocky parts of the coast. 

 Nesting Period. — End of May and beginning of June. 

 Site of Nest. — Ledges of rocky sea cliffs. 

 Materials Used. — Marine plants, lined with dry grass. 

 Eggs. — Three. Stone-coloured or olive in ground colour, blotched 



and spotted with ash-grey and two or three shades of brown. 

 Food. — Small fish. 



