194 CASSELL'S BOOK OF BIRDS. 



Numbers of these Gulls are constantly to be seen upon the carcases left by the seal-hunters, or the 

 Polar bears, and they are always present around the holes or rifts in the ice, to which seals generally 

 resort. As relates to the breeding of these birds, the same author tells us that on the 7 th of July, at 

 the northern extremity of Murchiscn's Bay, he saw a great number of them upon the ledges of a 

 perpendicular cliff of limestone in company with a variety of other birds. It was easy to perceive 

 that the females were sitting upon their eggs ; these were at the time quite unapproachable, but on the 

 30th of June he was ably assisted by a party of men, furnished with long ropes, to get at some of 

 the nests, which consisted of a small quantity of grass, spread upon the bare rock, and rudely lined 

 with grass, seaweed, moss, and feathers. 



The KITTIWAKES (Hissa) may be selected as the representatives of the Three-toed Gulls, 

 their distinguishing character being that the hinder toe is wanting or reduced to a mere rudiment. 

 Should other points of difference be sought for, they may be found in the feebleness of the beak and 

 in the proportionately short tarsi. The toes, however, are long, and the feet provided with well- 

 developed webs. In the adults, the plumage upon the head, neck, rump, tail, and under parts of the 

 body is snow-white, and on the mantle blueish grey, the wings are whitish grey, black at the points. 

 The eye is brown, the eye-ring coral-red ; the beak citron-yellow, red at the corner of the mouth ; the 

 foot black, yellowish in the sole. After their autumnal moult, the hinder neck becomes blueish grey, 

 and a round spot behind the ear black. In young birds, the mantle is dark grey, each feather being 

 margined with black. The length of this Gull is from sixteen to seventeen inches, the breadth thirty- 

 seven to thirty-nine inches; the length of the wing twelve inches, and of the tail five inches. 



This bird is an inhabitant of high northern latitudes ; during the winter, however, it leaves the 

 frozen ocean, and not only appears in considerable numbers upon the shores of Great Britain, but 

 extends its flight to places much farther south. These Gulls are seen inland more frequently than the 

 generality of their kindred, as they often follow the course of rivers to a considerable distance into the 

 interior of the country, sometimes appearing there in large flocks. In Iceland and Greenland their 

 arrival is always hailed as the harbinger of spring. They make their appearance there between the 8th 

 and 20th of March, and although the weather is still piercingly cold, proceed at once to take possession 

 of the rocks where they intend to breed, as though each pair were anxious to lose no time in 

 securing a resting-place. Should the ledges of the rock happen to be covered with snow, the 

 Kittiwakes are more than usually restless, and their unremitting shrieks are almost deafening. They 

 remain in their summer residence till near November, about which time they leave the fjords and fly 

 away into the open sea. 



In their habits the Kittiwakes are perhaps more sociable and noisier than the rest of their 

 family, but in other respects they present nothing particularly noticeable. They walk badly, and 

 therefore seldom come on dry land, but they swim well, even in the roughest weather. Their 

 flight is light, easy, and much diversified, sometimes sweeping around in beautiful gyrations, some- 

 times urged rapidly forward by long strokes of their wings. Occasionally they will plunge from a 

 considerable altitude into the water, to catch a fish, or seize upon any food that happens to 

 present itself. They never seem to quarrel, and it is really wonderful to observe in what harmony 

 thousands, or we might say millions, of them live together. 



For their breeding-places these Gulls invariably select rocks well furnished with ledges, projections, 

 or cavities, ranged one above another, and it is on these shelves or within the hollows, that they place 

 their nests. From the foot of the rock to its very summit, each "coign of vantage" is appro- 

 priated, each platform covered, and if not exactly cooing like so many Doves, at least they make 

 as musica' shriekings and screechings as a Sea Gull is capable of producing. During all this 



