214 CHAMBERLAIN, Birds of Southern Greenland. [July 
In autumn these birds depart very gradually, but in spring they 
return in large flocks, and at times the entire colony appears together. 
On first arriving they settle in the central portions of the fjord, and are 
always seen in compact groups, whether on the land or water. They are 
at that season extremely shy, but this shyness lessens as the mating 
season advances, and then, also, the flocks separate, and during the latter 
part of April and in May they fly off in small parties or in pairs. On the 
first day of June, 1887, the fjord below their nesting place was covered 
with ice, although at that date in 1886 the birds had begun to lay. Some 
fifteen hundred to two thousand pairs build on a cliff near the mouth of 
Arsuk Fjord, their nests being placed between two feet and one hundred 
feet from the water’s edge—far below the nests of the Iceland Gull on 
the same cliff. 
During April the Kittiwakes are often observed to leave their feeding 
place—on the open water, which at that season is some six miles away 
from their nesting ground,—and rising to a considerable height in the air, 
fly to the cliff on which they build, and after circling over this spot for a 
time, as if reconoitring, uttering their harsh cry all the while, they re- 
turn again to the water. When flying alone, or in small parties, 
they are usually silent, but when in large flocks, during the spring or 
when gathered about their nesting site, or at some unusually fine feast— 
such as the carcass of a whale—they continually utter a loud harsh cry 
which, at times, becomes almost a shriek. There is a decided similarity 
between the cry of the Kittiwake and that of the Gull-billed Tern, and 
the eggs of these two birds are, also, much alike. 
On July 7, 1887, Mr. Hagerup saw an iceberg which served as a resting 
place for several hundred young Gulls—Kittiwakes, Glaucous Gulls, Ice- 
jand Gulls, and Great Black-backed. Several adult Kittiwakes and Ice- 
land Gulls were with the party. As usual the Kittiwakes were on the 
lower portion of the berg, nearest the water’s edge, the different species 
being sharply separated. 
When the fjord is visited by whales the Gulls follow close in their wake 
and gather in the small animals the whales drive toward the surface. 
Larus glaucus. GLAucous GuLL.—This is a very common species, 
and might be called a resident, for even during the coldest weather some 
individuals are seen daily near the open water, though the examples 
occurring in midwinter are usually young birds. During March and April, 
when the Eiders appear in flocks near the coast and feed on mussels which 
they dive to the bottom for, these Gulls may be observed swimming or fly- 
ing amid the Eiders, and as soon as a Duck comes to the surface with a 
mussel, a Gull will make an effort tosecure it. 
An adult bird, the first of the season, shot on March 20, 1887, was in 
perfect summer plumage. 
The principal breeding place of this Gull in the vicinity of Ivigtut is 
close by the open sea, near the mouth of the tjord, where they congregate 
in considerable numbers. In August the young birds assemble in the 
fjord, especially near the narrow channels, as at Karsuk and Ellerslie, and 
