GULLS AND TERNS. 49 



using several spots in succession. One year they 

 will nest here, another year there, on the same 

 small island perhaps, but sometimes removing en 

 masse to another one of the group. The nests are 

 always placed upon the ground, either amongst the 

 sand shingle and drifted debris, a short distance 

 from high water mark, or amongst the sea campion, 

 thrift, and coarse grass further inland ; sometimes 

 a bare mound on the highest part of the island is 

 selected. Many nests are made within a small 

 area, sometimes so close together as to render 

 walking amongst them without treading on their 

 contents a difficult matter. The nests are slight 

 enough, mere hollows lined with a few bits of 

 withered herbage, and in some cases even this 

 simple provision is neglected. The eggs, which are 

 laid from about the middle of May to the middle of 

 June, are generally two in number, but sometimes 

 three. These vary from creamy-white to rich buff 

 in ground colour, handsomely blotched and spotted 

 with various shades of brown and gray. During 

 the hot June days the eggs seem to require little 

 incubation, but there are always plenty of birds 

 about the spot, ready to rise fluttering and scream- 

 ing into the air when their breeding grounds are 

 invaded by man. But one brood is reared in the 

 season, yet if the first clutches of eggs be lost they 

 will be replaced. 



