AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 39' 



KITTIWAKE 



A. O. U. No. 40. (Klssa txidactyla. 



RANGE. 



Northern parts of North America. South in winter -to the^Great 



Lakes and New England. It is replaced on the Pacific Coast by the 



Pacific Kittiwake (R. t. pollicaris). 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, 18 in,; extent, 36 in.; tail, 5 in. Adults. — Bill yellowish; 



feet blackish; eye ring red. Whole head, neck, and under parts, also 



tail white. Back or mantle bluish gray. Tips of the primaries black. 



In winter the back of head and neck and also sides of breast are nearly 



the same color as the back. Young birds have the bill black and there 



is a well defined dusky spot in front of, and another behind the eye. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



A very abundant species breeding on the islands of the Atlantic Coast 

 from New England northwards. Also breeds abundantly on rocky 

 cliffs, placing the nests on the narrow ledges. The nests are made 

 chiefly of seaweed. They lay two, three, or very rarely four eggs early 

 in June, or the latter part of May. They have a bufTy or greenish 

 ground color and marked with blotches of brown and lilac. 



HABITS. 



Though not very common birds in the limits of the United States, 

 these gulls are one of the most numerous in the Arctic Regions. They 

 build their nests in large numbers on Bird Rocks in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, being one of the few Gulls which make a practice of placing 

 their nests in other situations than on the ground. They are very noisy 

 birds and their notes when angry, especially, sound like the repetition of 

 the name, "Kittiwake, Kittiwake." Their flight is very easy and buoy- 

 ant, and they can also swim and dive well. Sometimes they hover over 

 their prey in the water and then suddenly dash at it. They are not at 

 all shy and are easily tamed, and often kept in confinement where they 

 are said to live a great many years. They feed chiefly on small fish 

 and shell fish. 



