it must have been a Herring- Gull's ; but as we could 

 almost reach the nest from our boat with a boat-hook, 

 and plainly see the young birds, as their parents hovered 

 around us with their constant and unmistakable cry of 

 " Kittiweek" and as a considerable number of Herring- 

 Gulls were about their nests on the mainland almost 

 within shot-range, I have every reason to be quite 

 certain on this matter. I quite admit that this was an 

 exceptional occurrence, all the more remarkable from 

 the facts that many other Kittiwakes were haunting the 

 locality, without, so far as we could discover, having 

 nested anywhere between Berry Head and Plymouth 

 Sound, and that this species, as a rule, nests in numerous 

 colonies. I am not aware that the Kittiwake now nests 

 regularly on any part of our coasts between Plymouth 

 and the mouth of the Thames, but we found some 

 nesting-stations on the south coast of Cornwall and a 

 very well-stocked one in Scilly in 1852. I never, how- 

 ever, saw the Kittiwake in any numbers at all to 

 compare with those that were daily to be noticed in 

 Clew Bay, off the coast of Mayo, in the summer of 

 1854, when the rocks, the sea, and the air were posi- 

 tively alive with them from dawn till dusk. I am only 

 referring to my personal experience, and am well aware 

 that vast numbers of this species are to be found during 

 the breeding-season on almost all parts of our Islands 

 that are suited to their habits. The Kittiwake makes 

 a nest of seaweeds on the ledges of cliffs, and lays three 

 eggs, of a dull greenish drab-colour spotted with brown 

 and grey. During the winter months a few of this 

 species often come to a considerable distance inland, 



