primaries have white tips. The herring gull has a pale pearl- 
grey back. 
With a strange perversity the black-headed gull is commonly 
called, by the novice, the “ kittiwake.” This is a totally different 
bird, rather like a herring-gull in miniature, but with a green 
beak and short, black legs. Moreover, it is rarely seen inland. 
It breeds in vast colonies on the ledges of precipitous cliffs along the 
Scottish coast and the west of Ireland. There are colonies, too, 
on Lundy, the Scilly Isles, and the Farnes. 
One other gull must be mentioned here, though it is not 
common, save in the northern parts of Scotland. But it isa regular 
winter migrant down the east coast of England during the winter. 
This is Richardson’s skua. You may tell it at once by its dark 
brown coloration, and long, pointed tail. It gets its living 
mostly by robbing other gulls, chasing them till they disgorge 
their latest meal, which is seized in mid-air as it falls sea-ward ! 
“ 
Finally, a word or two about the “ game-birds.”” These are 
all birds easily distinguished by reason of their short, rounded, 
deeply convex wings, which, driven with incredible speed, 
‘ ») 
produce a “ whirring ” sound—very pleasant to the ears of the 
sportsman. The flight is never continued very far. The English 
partridge may be distinguished by the horse-shoe mark on the 
breast: the French partridge by the beautiful pearl-grey colour 
of the flanks, relieved by short bars of black, and chestnut-red, 
112 
