32 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



Rock Pipit (Anthus obscurus). A close relative of the 

 meadow pipit. This bird makes its nest in the crevices 

 of the rock and lays four or five eggs. 



The Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) nest on the 

 Megstone. On approaching the rock the old birds may 

 be seen standing on the rock like sentinels, but fly off 

 before you land. The situation chosen for nests is the 

 highest part of the island. The nests are large structures, 

 composed of coarse sea-weed, usually about 18 inches in 

 height. The cormorant is a large bird, about three feet 

 in length. Its eyes are of a bright emerald green colour, 

 and its plumage almost entirely black. Cormorants are 

 trained by the Chinese to fish, and also by some gentlemen 

 on the south coast of England. Albinos occasionally 

 occur. The black-backed gulls levy a heavy toll on the 

 eggs of this species. 



The Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) nests on 

 the Wamses, the Staples, and the Wide Opens. Eggs, 

 two or three in number. These birds destroy great numbers 

 of the eggs of most of the species breeding on the Fames. 



The Kittiwake (Rissa tridyctyla). The nesting place of 

 this species is on the sides of the Pinnacles, where their 

 nests are to be found on every accessible ledge. The eggs 

 are obtained by means of a small net fixed at the end of 

 a long pole. The kittiwake may be distinguished from any 

 European gull by the absence of a hind toe. Plumage of 

 the mature birds : Head, neck, tail, and under parts white, 

 mantle grey, wings (flight feathers) with a good deal of 

 black, legs and feet black. The kittiwake has a peculiar 

 cry which resembles very closely its name. 



The Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii). First discovered 

 as a British bird by Dr. M. Dougall, of Glasgow, who 

 found it in the Firth of Clyde. Harting says (page 292 

 of "Handbook of British Birds") : "Unlike the common 

 and Arctic terns, the bill of this species, when adult, is 

 black, with the gape orange, and the legs and feet orange 

 red." One or two pairs of this beautiful and rare tern 



