28 NESTB AND EOQS OF 



and seaweed. Some of the nests are quite flat, ■while others are several inches In 

 thicl:::ec3 and deeply' hollowed, new mkterial being added each year, and they are 

 somotirrics eg numerous that the breeding places become very filthy and emit an in- 

 tolerable odor, ^^lie eggs are. two and sometimes three in' number, and have a ■ 

 grc"nd-color of Yellowish buff, brownish-gray or pale greenish-gray, marked with 

 irregular spots of varying shades of brown aiKTHlac. The average size is 2.26x1.61. 



40a. PACIFIC, KITTIWAKE. Rissa tridactyla polUraris Ridgw. Geog. 

 Dist.- — Coasts cf North Pacific and Bering Sea. 



This form cf the Kittiwake is abundant on the islands of the North Pacific. It ' 

 is abundant along the entire coast line of Alaska and on all the numerous islands. 

 The bird is resident upon the Aleutian Islands and breeds in great abundance upon 

 all the islands cf Bering Sea, the Straits, and along the Arctic coast to Cape Lis- 

 burne. Dr. Leonhard Stejneger records it as a common breeding bird, both on the 

 islands and along the Kamtschatkan coast, and in all places suitable for rookeries 

 they are found in astonishing numbers. For the purpose of nesting they select the 

 shelves and projections of'cliffs, the tops of walls that rise perpendicularly out of the 

 .deep sea, and especially on the high pinnacles standing lonely amidst the foaming 

 breakers. The nest is composed of matted fragments of moss and grass, and fre- 

 quently the eggs are deposited in mere hollows in the loose dirt. The nesting Is 

 precisely the same as that of R. tridactyla, and the eggs are indistinguishable, ex- , 

 cept that in a large series they are said to be more uniform in their markings. 



41. KED-LEGKxED KITTIWAKE. Rissa hrevirostris (Bruch.) Geog. Dist. — - 

 Coasts and islands of Bering Sea. 



The living bird of this species has coral-red, legs and feet, which contrast richly 

 with the snowy white plumage of the head, neck and under parts. An abundant 

 species on the islands of Bering Sea. On the Prybilof group it swarms by tens of 

 thousands to breed in the first part of May. It is especially abundant on St. 

 George's and St.. Paul's Islands. The nests, like those of the Pacific Kittiwake, are 

 placed on almost inaccessible shelves and projections, so that seldom is a nest 

 reached unless a person is lowered down to it on a rope passed over the clifC. Dry 

 grass and moss cemented with mud are the materials which constitute the nests. 

 The Red-legged Kittiwake is common on the islands along the Kamtschatkan coast, 

 notably on Copper Island, where it breeds in company with pollicaris. The eggs 

 have a ground-color of brownish white, varying to light drab and buff, marked with 

 blotches, sepia-brown and umber; these are underlain by subdued shades and cloud- 

 ings of lilac-gray. The average size of the egg is 2.28x1.66. 



42. GXATTCTJS GTJLIi. Lams glaucus Brunn. Geog. Dist. — Arctic regions, 

 south in North America to the Great Lakes and Long Island. North Pacific. 



One of the largest of the Gulls, equal, in fact, to the Great Black-backed Gull, 

 L. marinns. It is a bird of high northern range during the breeding season — in- 

 habiting the Arctic regions of Europe and Asia and the more northern portions of 

 North America. In Spitzbergen it is said to breed in immense numbers, placing the 

 nests on the shores or low rocks and even on masses of ice. They are large struc- 

 tures, made of sea weed an4 moss. The Burgomaster Gull, as it is called, ifeeds on 

 crabn and fishes; it attacks smaller birds and also robs theto of their eggs and young. 

 It attends fishing boats for the purpose of devouring the ofCal which' may be thrown 

 twrerboard. Tho bird is recorded as a constant resident of Greenland. In Hudson Bay 

 region it builds its nests on the islands in lakes and rivers, and the young are hatched 



