282 SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



With new scenes come new thoughts, and we 

 forget entirely the busy throng which we have so 

 lately left behind, or think of it only to regret that 

 we must return to it. The birds, the sea-weeds, 

 the insects, and the shells, in turn engross our 

 attention, and we find occupation for a whole day 

 in the study of a single species. 



Almost as a matter of course the seafowl, by 

 their cries and conspicuous plumage, attract especial 

 notice, and to the ornithologist no greater treat can 

 be afforded than a visit to one of their breeding- 

 stations during the time the birds are sitting. 



The most widely-distributed of all the Gulls, 

 probably, is the Herring Gull. During the nesting 

 season this species may be found on all the rocky 

 portions of our coast, but it is commoner on the 

 west and south than on the east and north. Indeed, 

 on the Welsh headlands, and throughout the entire 

 range of cliffs from Cornwall to Sussex inclusively, 

 this is the Gull most frequently met with. It is 

 true the Greater Black-backed Gull (L. marinus) 

 and the Kittiwake (L. tridactylus) are often found 

 in the same cliffs with the Herring Gull ; but, except 

 in favoured localities (as, for example, at Lundy 



