186 THE GULLS 



but do not begin building their nests till May. Little has been, so far, 

 recorded of their habits in the interval. It is, as might be expected, 

 largely taken up by love-making, and with a certain amount of 

 fighting arising from disputed claims to nest-sites. The kittiwake's 

 manner of expressing its love has yet to be studied in satisfactory 

 detail. I have personally only had opportunities of watching the 

 species from early May, when it begins nest-building, till August. 

 All I can find stated about its love-gestures previous to May is 

 summed up under the general terms "billing" and " cooing," which 

 lack precision, especially the latter. But as it is highly unlikely that 

 the love-gestures of the birds in the early part of the season differ 

 from those they make later, what is here said of the latter may be 

 regarded as applying equally to the former. 



Kittiwakes are very demonstrative in their affection. Mated 

 birds may often be seen facing one another and uttering excitedly, 

 as if their conjugal happiness depended upon it, the familiar kitti- 

 way-eks, which give the species its name, and which may easily be 

 imitated by pronouncing the word as would a parrot. They may 

 accompany this outpouring with a variety of gesture. One pair, 

 for instance, after bending down their heads, and, with beaks wide 

 open and tongue conspicuous between the mandibles, kittiwaking on 

 to the bare rock, levelled their heads and necks and kittiwaked at 

 one another, and finally raised them and kittiwaked to the heavens. 

 During the performance the neck was also moved from side to side, so 

 that every point of the compass was favoured with the sound of their 

 voices. This was on August 15, at the end of the breeding season. 

 Again, they may often be seen rubbing beaks, in other words billing, 

 and following the same by ecstatic kittiwaking, usually with the heads 

 bent downward in the regurgitative manner common among other 

 species of Gull. The wings are sometimes opened, sometimes closed, 

 during these performances. The same outbursts of kittiwakes may 

 follow the return of one of a pair to the ledge where its mate is 

 keeping guard or incubating. One may often, indeed, tell when the 



