6S 
and gay with the littie bits of colour supplied hy odd pieces of green 
and red seaweed, dry tus.sac grass, straw, green weeds, or diddle-dee 
twigs ; they usually contain three greenish-white chalky eggs, laid 
in November. Shags’ eggs, both Kings' and Rocks', are considered 
by some people good to eat, but are inclined to be decidedly “tasty.” 
It is not generally known that Shags have no tongues. The young 
birds are brown for the first year, when they change their plumage 
to black and white. 
Sheathbill (i Chiottis alba). Pages 33-35. The Sheathbill is 
locally called the Kelp Pigeon, from its resemblance to a snow-white 
pigeon, and from its feeding principally along the shore among the 
kelp. It may be seen about on the beaches and rocks at all times of 
the year, chiefly on some of the outlying islands, in the summer 
scavenging in the neighbourhood of Shag and Penguin rookeries. 
Its eggs have seldom, if ever, been found in the Falkland Islands. 
Blue, Grey or Dolphin Gull ( Leucof>haeus scoresbyi). Pages 
35-37- The Dolphin Gulls breed in the Falklands ; nesting in 
December, they lay three greenish eggs with varying brown mark- 
ings. They are pretty birds with their crimson bills and legs, dark 
and light-grey plumage and snow-white tails. They have no respect 
for the property of others, but hover in the neighbourhood of Shag 
and Penguin rookeries on the chance of carrying off the eggs. In 
the winter they become very tame round some of the settlements, 
coining to feed with the poultry, and taking a good deal more than 
a fair share of the food if they are not sharply looked after. 
Southern Black-backed or Dominican Gull ( Laras tiomini- 
canus). Pages 38-40. These birds are locally called Big Gulls as 
they are the largest and most common of the Falkland Gulls. They 
nest, as a rule, in colonies, either up on the land in grass or diddle- 
dee. or on the beaches, but solitary nests are also found. The 
photographs on pages 38 and 39 illustrate the way in which they will 
take advantage of any protection from the wind for their nests, on an 
exposed sand beach ; these being in the angle formed by some pieces 
of drift wood and in the lee of a large piece of whalebone respectively. 
They are built of wool, grass, and seaweeds. The usual number of 
eggs laid is three ; these vary much in size, colour, and markings, 
even in the same nest. The eggs are good for eating, boiled, fried, 
or in “ flapjacks,” etc. The Gulls themselves break and eat numbers 
of their own and their neighbours’ eggs, or they would increase more 
rapidly than they do at present. They will eat any rubbish that 
comes in their way, from scraps of paper and cotton wool to carrion, 
and are almost as bad as the Sea Hens (page 57) in attacking, or 
carrying off", live animals and birds. The young birds are grey with 
black bills; these change to yellow with a red spot below when they 
are almost a year old, by which time the plumage is black and 
white, as is shown in the photograph of the mature specimen on 
page 40. 
Johnny Rook ( 1 bycter australis). Pages 41, 42. The Johnny 
Rook has decreased in numbers in the Falklands of late years. A 
much more gentlemanly scavenger in appearance than the Turkey 
Buzzard (page 23), the adult bird is almost black with white bands 
across the wings and end of tail, while the immature plumage is a 
