$288 THE ZooLocist—NoveEMBER, 1872. 
mine can give an adequate conception of the multitudes of these 
gulls; they almost rival the puffins in number. From morn till 
night they follow the line of coast in never-ending streams, wending 
their way to or from their breeding-places. I have watched them 
for hours passing in continuous flocks of thousands alongside the 
cliffs, each bird with a piece of grass or moss in its bill: on the 
island of Sandoe are two small lakes, which seemed to be a 
favourite bathing-place for these birds; the surface of the water was 
literally white with them, and the narrow valley leading up from 
the sea to the lakes was thronged with them hurrying to and fro. 
One of their nesting-places, on the magnificent cliffs of the Great 
Dimon, is the finest sight of the kind I have seen. A visitor lands 
on the ledge, only accessible in fine weather, at the base of the 
cliffs, and then he has to scramble along, between the sea and the 
face of the rock, for about half a mile, before reaching the only spot 
where it is possible to ascend the island. On one side is the sea 
dashing against the rocks, looking as if each wave was ready to 
sweep over the ledge; on the other hand the wall of rock rises 
perpendicularly to a height of six or seven hundred feet. There 
the kittiwakes build in countless myriads, in a vast colony to them- 
selves; the nests commence at a height of twenty or twenty-five 
feet from the ledge, and then continue without intermission to the 
top of the cliff. Our visit was made in the height of the laying- 
season: each nest had an owner seated on it, and generally the 
mate was perched alongside ; by yelling and shouting we managed 
to make some of the birds near us leave their nests; then the 
disturbance became general, and the kittiwakes, tier by tier, left 
their nests, giving the appearance of a vast white sheet rolling up 
from the face of the cliff and dissolving into snow. The noise was 
deafening for a few minutes, but soon the birds settled down on 
their nests. The kittiwake is much esteemed for the table, and 
the inhabitants are constantly shooting them; we ate them and 
found them tolerable. On one occasion, in the North Isles, I fired 
four barrels at short range into an enormous flock of them; seated 
on the water; the result was, twenty-one picked up, to the delight 
of our crew, who were thus provided with a good supper. 
123. Pagophila eburnea, Phipps. Ivory Gull. — Miiller 
(Feroernes Fuglefauna, p. 72) writes, “ of this species I have only 
obtained two examples, one adult, and a young bird, procured at 
Sorvaag on the 12th of March, 1858.” The same gentleman kindly 
