26 



NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS EGGS. 



[Buff.] 

 Many Murres nesting on other ledges. 



They gather together a pile of 

 sticks, grass and moss, making 

 the interior cup-shaped so as to 

 hold their two or three eggs. 

 Large numbers of them breed on 

 Bird Rock, they occupying cer- 

 tain ledges while the Gannets 

 and Murres which also breed 

 there, also have distinct ledges 

 on which to make their homes. 

 The breeding season is at its 

 height during June. The eggs 

 are buffy or brownish gray and 

 are spotted with different shades 

 of brown. Size 2.25x1.60. Data. 

 So. Labrador, June 15, 1884. Three 

 eggs. Nest made of seaweed and 

 moss, placed on ledge of cliff. 

 Collector, H. Jameson. 



40a. Pacific Kittiwake. Rissa tridactyla pollicoris. 



Range. Coast of the North Pacific, wintering south to California. 



The Pacific Kittiwake breeds in immense rookeries on some of the islands in 

 Bering Sea. They are well distributed over Copper Island where they nest in 

 June and July, choosing the high ledges which overhang the sea. The nest- 

 ing habits and eggs are precisely the same as those of the common Kittiwake. 

 Data. Island in Norton Sound, Alaska, June 10, 1900. Three eggs on a cliff; 

 nest a heap of seaweed. Collector, Capt. H. H. Bodfish. 



41. Red-legged Kittiwake. Rissa brevirostris. 



Range. Northwestern coasts, breeding in high latitudes. 



This Kittiwake is similar to the preceding, with the exception that the legs 

 are bright red, the mantle is darker, and the bill is shorter. This species was 

 found by Dr. Leonard Stejneger to be 

 a very abundant nesting bird on 

 islands in Bering Sea, selecting steep 

 and inaccessible rocks and ledges on 

 which to build its nest. Their nesting 

 habits are precisely the same as the 

 Pacific Kittiwake, but they most often 

 nest in separate colonies, but can be 

 distinguished readily when nesting 

 together by the darker mantles when 

 on the nest and the red legs when fly- 

 ing. Grass, moss and mud are used 

 in the nest. The ground color of the 

 eggs is buffy or brownish, and the 

 spots are dark brown and lilac. Size 

 2.15 x 1.50. Data. Island in Norton 

 Sound, Alaska, May 10, 1900. Nest made of seaweed and located on ledge of 

 high cliff. Collector, H. H. Bodfish. 



[Brownish buff. 



