520 The Zoologist — December, 1866. 



the word — of the migratory fishes and their fry, and as tlie food of the 

 one and two-year old birds is similar to that of the adult and young, 

 viz. fry, they must consequently frequent the same localities ; in other 

 words, the track of the migratory fishes. In its disposition the l<itti- 

 vvake is extremely sociable, and apparently very affectionate to its 

 kind. It is a most confiding and innocent creature, and, unhappily, 

 fearless of its great enemy, man, who barbarously and wantonly, I am 

 sorry to say, in many cases, shoots it by scores (for pleasure .''), its 

 affectionate habit of hovering and crying over its dead or wounded 

 companions giving the murderer ample time to reload for its destruc- 

 tion ; and then, with mutilated wing, it is taken into the boat, roughly 

 thrown upon the dirty bottom, its beautiful symmetry destroyed, its 

 snowy plumage soiled and bloody, agony depicted in its eyes, perhaps 

 its existence mercifully ended by a rude kick or its brains dashed out 

 against the boat, mayhap to die lingeringly in an urchin's hands, or 

 perhaps favoured with a chance of life, to die helplessly' — on the 

 element it loved, and over which it flew, and on which it swam in 

 health — of starvation, of exhaustion, or of cold. Poor innocent kitti- 

 wake ! dear little friend ! 



Food. — Chiefly fry, though floating scraps of food and tallow are 

 eaten for want of fish. No doubt the kittiwake may eat crustaceans, 

 &c., when compelled by hunger, but living fry 1 consider its normal 

 food. 



Flight, Resting, Swimming : the uses of the short Tarsi and the 

 Direr-like Feet. — The flight, strongly resembling that of the tern, is per- 

 formed by a succession of quick jerking beats of the wings, not relieved 

 by soars, generally flying slowly, though should a "play" rise at any 

 distance from them they can make pretty good flying, but they have 

 none of that eagle-like glide and sweep of the true gulls. They possess 

 an extraordinary power of turning and twisting when the skua hunts 

 them. When fishing they do not dangle (or rarely) the feet in the water 

 like the other gulls, but dart on to its surface to take their prey, which 

 may be some inches beneath : they do not strike the water with the 

 force of the tern, but still they dart on to its surface unlike any other 

 of the gulls : the short tarsi and the flexible toes are here of great 

 service, quickly raising the bird again from the water by a stroke. 

 • The other gulls cannot do thi& on account of their long wading tarsi, 

 so that they fish by dangling the feet in the water to balance and to 

 prevent the body from touching it : when they do settle on the water 

 they lake some little time to rise and get into proper balance again ; 



