" *> 



comes amiss to it, and it is very fond of following the fishing-boats to pick 

 up any refuse thrown overboard. 



It is rather a late breeder, and only arrives at its breeding-grounds in 

 the beginning of May. Eggs are, however, seldom laid before the last few 

 days of the month. Though it is a gregarious bird, its colonies are very 

 scattered, no two nests being found close together; they are usually scattered 

 all over the moor where the birds breed. They are very difficult to find ; and 

 although the ornithologist may be surrounded with birds lying on the ground 

 flapping their wings to distract his attention, or dashing down at his head, 

 he may hunt for half an hour most systematically, and yet be unable to find 

 a nest. The surest way is to lie down behind some hummock and watch the 

 females to their nests. At first they will fly about and settle in various places, 

 changing their position every now and then, but gradually they go to their 

 nests and settle down on them ; then they can be marked and easily 

 found. 



The nest is placed quite in the open on some bare part of the moor, and 

 is merely a depression in the ground scantily lined with a few bits of grass 

 or sprigs of heather. Two eggs are usually laid ; on some occasions only 

 one ; three are seldom, if ever, found. In most of the colonies I have visited, 

 I have found very light-coloured eggs, as well as the ordinary dark types, 

 and have noticed the extraordinary variety in their shapes. It is quite 

 common to find a very long thin egg and a round one in the same nest. 

 The eggs vary in ground-colour from pale olive green to russet brown, or 

 even pale buff and pale bluish green, blotched, spotted, or fantastically 

 streaked with rich dark brown overlying spots, sometimes almost black, and 

 a few inconspicuous underlying markings of greyish brown. The markings 

 are generally fairly evenly distributed over the entire surface of the shell, but 

 on some specimens they form a ring round the larger end of the egg ; they 

 are seldom much larger than a fair-sized pea. The eggs vary in length from 

 2 '49 to 2'io inches, and in breadth from r68 to 1*55 inch. They are absolutely 

 indistinguishable from certain varieties of the Common and Black-headed 

 Gulls. 



Young in down are dark sooty brown, slightly paler on the under parts ; 

 the bill, legs, and feet black. 



