LAEIDJE. 297 



in latitude 70." The nest is said to be formed of sea- 

 weed, and the eggs, two or three in number, to be of a 

 creamy-white spotted with grey, brown, and brownish-black. 

 THE KITTIWAKE GULL. Larus rissa. This Gull is 

 named from its peculiar and clearly-articulated cry of " Kit- 

 tiwake." It is found in many parts of the British Islands, 

 occurring in vast numbers in some situations, but chiefly in 

 summer, by far the greater proportion quitting our shores 

 before the winter arrives. Out of Britain it is very exten- 

 sively distributed, from Italy to the highest northern lati- 

 tudes yet explored, and from Europe to North America. It 

 builds its nest in the most inaccessible situations upon the 

 jutting ledges of precipitous rocks, and forms it of grass and 

 seaweed mingled with clay, and were it not for the weight 

 and adhesive qualities of the clay, Mr. Hewitson remarks 

 that, from the position of the nest, the eggs or young would 

 certainly be destroyed. The eggs, three in number, differ 

 in their ground-colour and markings, sometimes being 

 beautifully zoned with blotches of dark colour ; perhaps 

 they may be characterized as being of a pale-brown, or 

 of a stone colour tinged with olive, and freely spotted with 

 grey and brown. The Kittiwakes sometimes congregate 

 in vast numbers to breed ; they usually resort to the same 



