BIRDS OI'^ YARMOUTH AND VICINITY. ALLEN. 71 



40. Rissa tn'dactyla tridactyla (Linn.). Kittiwake. — Not 

 more tlian three observation.s in seventeen years. 

 All winter birds, brought in to taxidermists. 



47. Larus marinus Linn. Black-backed Gull,. — Appar- 

 ently irregular along our coasts in winter, and 

 begins to vi.sit the fresh water lakes as soon as they 

 are open in the spring. A large, and apparently 

 increasing colony breeds on several small islands in 

 Lake George, twelve miles north of Yarmouth. 

 The nests, containing normally three eggs, are 

 situated on the ground. Some are at the roots of 

 stumps, some among the thick bushes, and some 

 among the pebbles on the beach. The shallow 

 hollows are edged with coarse sticks, and lined with 

 tufts of grass, dead leaves, feathers, or other soft 

 material. Two cases have been noted in which 

 the clutch of eggs included one egg of a very pale 

 blue color with obscure lavender markings. Frag- 

 ments of fishes of large size may be found about 

 the islands. The Bay of Fundy shore is only four 

 miles west of the colony. A visit to the colony 

 June 9, 1912 showed over one hundred nests with 

 eggs, many nests still unused, and about forty 

 young not more than three or four days old. We 

 estimated that there were more than a thousand 

 adult birds in the colon}'. Another visit was made 

 July 15, 1913. The colony seemed larger than in 

 1912, nests being found in places not used then. 

 Hatching was practically done, and most of the 

 young were well grown. Many were able to give 

 us a good chase in the boat. We were banding 

 them. They are not, however, rapid swimmers, 

 and good steady pulling soon brings the boat up 

 to them. But their habit of turning suddenly oflf 

 at right angles makes them difficult to capture. 



