WATCHING GULLS AND SKUAS 103 



to the other the propriety of building a nest, but it 

 may be the actual manner in which the nest is built. 

 There would, of course, be no doubt as to this, if the 

 birds — or one of them — were to continue thus to pluck 

 and bring tufts or blades of grass. But this was never 

 the case when I saw them, nor did I ever remark any 

 action on their part that had more the appearance of 

 systematic nest-building than this. The nest of the 

 great skua is very slight, a mere pressed-down litter 

 of coarse long grass, shallow, and having a pulled, 

 tattered look round the edges suggestive of the 

 crown of a shabby straw hat or bonnet from which 

 the remaining portion has been torn. Compared to 

 it, the nest of a gull, being formed of quite a con- 

 siderable quantity of bog-moss and heather, basin- 

 shaped, and fairly regular and with well-formed, soft, 

 cushiony rim all round it, is almost a work of archi- 

 tecture. 



Yet neither do gulls seem to work regularly or 

 systematically in the building of their nests. One 

 may be seen piking into the ground with its powerful 

 beak and then withdrawing it with a tuft of moss 

 or a sprig of heather held between the mandibles. 

 After making a few sedate steps with this the bird 

 lays it down, but instead of fetching some more, now, 

 and continuing the work, it merely stands there and 

 appears to forget all about it. Another will fly up 

 with some material, and, after circling a little above 

 its partner on the ground, will alight and lay it down 

 as a contribution beside it, in a very stolid sort of way. 

 The other bird does not help, and does not seem par- 

 ticularly interested, and the two now stand side by 

 side for about half-an-hour, when the one that has last 



