G9 
my friend, Mr. Dresser, from Lake Ladoga, where they nest in great 
numbers j and, as at present it is not known to breed anywhere 
furtlier to the north or west, we may presume that those which, in 
autumn and winter appear on the coast of Great Britain, form part 
of that colony, and that migrating in a westerly rather than a 
southerly direction, they have passed from the Baltic into the 
North Sea. In this instance, however, the main body of them 
appear to have been suddenly driven by the irresistible force of 
the gale upon our shores and estuaries, and tlms afforded a chance 
to our local collectors, which, exce])t under similar circumstances, 
may not occur again. 
Hie great predominance of adult birds, amongst the specimens 
procured, still further marks the accidental character of their visi- 
tation, the proportion being — amongst such as I can speak of with 
certainty six imniature to twenty-nine fully adult j but it is 
difficult to account lor the great predominance of males, as proved 
by dissection, the females presenting about the same projiortion in 
numbers to the males, as the young to the old. In plumage the 
young exhibited the usuiil variations, from the mottled plumage of 
the bird of the year, with its brown head and collar, the grey of 
the back sprinkled with brown, and the dark primaries but spar- 
relieved with white, to that more mature and interesting 
sttige, w hen the head and back have assumed the grey tints of the 
adult plumage, and the grey and white are gradually extending to 
the secondaries and primaries. In this stage, however, each wing 
is barred with brown as in the young kittiwake, and the tail is still 
broadly tipped with the same colour. The old birds, one and aU, 
presented the exipiisite contrast of grey and white, that marks the 
winter dress of this species in both sexes, the crown and back part 
of the head smoke grey with a dark spot below each ear covert j 
the sides of the neck and breast, back, and upper surface of the 
wings, pure French grey, relieved by a white margin to the tips of 
the primary and secondary quills. The under surface of the wings 
dark slate grey, showing the same white edging, and the tail and 
under parts, generally, pure white, with the breast and vent in 
most specimens, when freshly killed, suffused with a lovely tint of 
rose colour. But one bird out of all I examined in this grey 
plumage, exhibited the slightest variation from these general 
features of the adult dress ; but in this instance a female, in my 
