GULLS AND TERNS. 49 
using several spots in succession. One year they 
will nest here, another year there, on the same 
small island perhaps, but sometimes removing ez 
masse to another one of the group. The nests are 
always placed upon the ground, either amongst the 
sand shingle and drifted dedrvzs, a short distance 
from high water mark, or amongst the sea campion, 
thrift, and coarse grass further inland; sometimes 
a bare mound on the highest part of the island is 
selected. Many nests are made within a small 
area, sometimes so close together as to render 
walking amongst them without treading on their 
contents a difficult matter. The nests are slight 
enough, mere hollows lined with a few bits of 
withered herbage, and in some cases even this 
simple provision is neglected. The eggs, which are 
laid from about the middle of May to the middle of 
June, are generally two in number, but sometimes 
three. These vary from creamy-white to rich buff 
in ground colour, handsomely blotched and spotted 
with various shades of brown and gray. During 
the hot June days the eggs seem to require little 
incubation, but there are always plenty of birds 
about the spot, ready to rise fluttering and scream- 
ing into the air when their breeding grounds are 
invaded by man. But one brood is reared in the 
season, yet if the first clutches of eggs be lost they 
will be replaced. 
