34 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 
rudimentary hind toe, is one of the best known, 
as it is one of the most widely distributed, British 
species. These remarks are however most applicable 
to the non-breeding season ; for during the nesting 
time it is rather more local, owing to the conditions 
under which its young are reared. The Kittiwake 
very closely resembles the Common Gull in general 
appearance, but the mantle is paler, the legs and 
feet are dark brown, and the primaries, or longest 
feathers of the wings, have broad black tips: it is 
also a perceptibly smaller bird, the smallest in fact 
of the typically marine Gulls. Of all the British 
Gulls the Kittiwake is certainly the most maritime 
in its habits, and is never known to visit inland 
districts, unless driven from the coast by storms of 
exceptional violence. Save in the breeding season 
it may be met with on all the low-lying coasts, 
visiting harbours, bays, and fishing villages, and 
imbuing many a littoral scene with life. The 
Kittiwake is a much more oceanic bird than the 
Common Gull, and often wanders immense distances 
from land in quest of food. It is said that birds 
of this species have been known to follow vessels 
across the North Atlantic, but this seems almost 
incredible—not because the bird is physically unable 
to perform the feat, but because we can scarcely 
believe any bird would wander of its own free-will 
so far from the local centre of its habitat. One 
of the most striking characteristics of the Kittiwake 
is its peculiar cry, heard to the best advantage 
