Birds of Southern Greenland, from 
Mss. of A. Hagerup. M. Chamberlain. 
Rissa tridactyla. Kittiwake. —An abundant summer resident; appear¬ 
ing about March 26, and remaining until October. A few have been 
seen as late as October 23. 
In autumn these birds depart very gradually, but in spring they 
return in large flocks, and at times the entire colony appears together. 
On first arriving they settle in the central portions of the fjord, and are 
always seen in compact groups, whether on the land or water. They are 
at that season extremely shy, but this shyness lessens as the mating 
season advances, and then, also, the flocks separate, and during the latter 
part of April and in May they fly off in small parties or in pairs. On the 
first day of June, 1887, the fjord below their nesting place was covered 
with ice, although at that date in 1886 the birds had begun to lay. Some 
fifteen hundred to two thousand pairs build on a cliff near the mouth of 
Arsuk Fjord, their nests being placed between two feet and one hundred 
feet from the water’s edge—far below the nests of the Iceland Gull on 
the same cliff. 
During April the Kittiwakes are often observed to leave their feeding 
place—on the open water, which at that season is some six miles away 
from their nesting ground,—and rising to a considerable height in the air, 
fly to the cliff on which they build, and after circling over this spot for a 
time, as if reconoitring, uttering their harsh cry all the while, they re¬ 
turn again to the water. When flying alone, or in small parties, 
they are usually silent, but when in large flocks, during the spring or 
when gathered about their nesting site, or at some unusually fine feast— 
such as the carcass of a whale—they continually utter a loud harsh cry 
which, at times, becomes almost a shriek. There is a decided similarity 
between the cry of the Kittiwake and that of the Gull-billed Tern, and 
the eggs of these two birds are, also, much alike. 
On July 7, 1887, Mr. Hagerup saw an iceberg which served as a resting 
place for several hundred young Gulls—Kittiwakes, Glaucous Gulls, Ice¬ 
land Gulls, and Great Black-backed. Several adult Kittiwakes and Ice¬ 
land Gulls were with the party. As usual the Kittiwakes were on the 
lower portion of the berg, nearest the water’s edge, the different species 
being sharply separated. 
When the fjord is visited by whales the Gulls follow close in their wake 
and gather in the small animals the whales drive toward the surface. 
AOk. VI. July, 1889. p.213 -HH- 
