British Sea Birds

by Charles Dixon

KITTIWAKE.

This charming Gull, the Larus tridactylus of scientists, so named from its entirely absent or rudimentary hind toe, is one of the best known, as it is one of the most widely distributed, British species. These remarks are however most applicable to the non-breeding season; for during the nesting time it is rather more local, owing to the conditions under which its young are reared. The Kittiwake very closely resembles the Common Gull in general appearance, but the mantle is paler, the legs and feet are dark brown, and the primaries, or longest feathers of the wings, have broad black tips: it is also a perceptibly smaller bird, the smallest in fact of the typically marine Gulls. Of all the British Gulls the Kittiwake is certainly the most maritime in its habits, and is never known to visit inland districts, unless driven from the coast by storms of exceptional violence. Save in the breeding season it may be met with on all the low-lying coasts, visiting harbours, bays, and fishing villages, and imbuing many a littoral scene with life. The Kittiwake is a much more oceanic bird than the Common Gull, and often wanders immense distances from land in quest of food. It is said that birds of this species have been known to follow vessels across the North Atlantic, but this seems almost incredible—not because the bird is physically unable to perform the feat, but because we can scarcely believe any bird would wander of its own free-will so far from the local centre of its habitat. One of the most striking characteristics of the Kittiwake is its peculiar cry, heard to the best advantage at the nesting places. This note, from which the colloquial name of the species is derived, resembles the syllables kitty-a-ake, requiring but little play upon the imagination to render as get-a-way-ah-get-away. It is only during the breeding season that this cry is heard to perfection, and after that is over the bird becomes a singularly silent one. The flight of this Gull is light and buoyant, but powerful and often long sustained. The bird may often be observed fishing at no great distance from shore, flying to and fro every now and then, poising and hovering previous to pouncing down upon a fish or other floating object. It is also an adept swimmer, and very frequently sleeps whilst sitting on the waves. The Kittiwake is perhaps more exclusively a fish-feeder than any other British Gull. It seldom searches for food on shore, and does not exhibit those omnivorous tastes that characterise so many of its congeners. It is a persistent follower of fish shoals, especially herrings and sprats, and will remain in the company of fishing fleets for weeks together. A scrap of food thrown from a ship will speedily be seized by one of these birds; whilst a few crustaceans and other marine creatures are taken from time to time.

The Kittiwake is a rather late breeder. It most probably pairs for life, as the same nesting places are resorted to each season. Of all the Gulls none breed in more inaccessible situations. The nests are almost always built upon a beetling ocean cliff, against which the waves are for ever beating in ceaseless strife. Except during the three months or so of the breeding season, this Gull is seldom seen at its nesting sites. In April or May the birds collect at their various stations, never quite to leave them again until the young are able to fly. It is a very gregarious bird, and some of these “gulleries” are very extensive, containing many thousands of pairs. In some localities, however, where the accommodation is either limited or unsuitable, but a few birds congregate to form a colony. The nests, often made as close together as they can be wedged, are built upon the ledges, shelves, and prominences of the rocks. Favourite spots are where the cliffs overhang, or at the entrance of a cave or hollow in the precipice. They are made at varying heights on the cliff, tier above tier, the lowest often within a few feet of high-water mark, but the most crowded places are usually about midway up from the sea. The nests are large and well made, many of them apparently the accumulation of years, composed externally of turf and roots, with much of the soil attached, and caked together. Upon this foundation a further nest of sea-weed and the stalks of various plants is formed, finally lined with finer and dry grass, and sometimes a few feathers. The nests and the cliffs in their vicinity are thickly whitewashed with the droppings of the birds. The eggs are two or three in number, rarely four, and vary from greenish-blue, through pale buff and buffish-brown to brownish-olive, blotched and spotted with reddish-brown, paler brown, and gray. No words of mine can adequately describe the beauty and animation of a colony of Kittiwakes. Their cries are deafening, and when the frightened birds flutter from the cliffs, and pass to and fro in thousands like a living snowstorm, the effect, whether seen from the water or from the cliffs above is charming in the extreme. It is sad to think that such a spot should too often become a scene of slaughter. But such is the case; the poor birds breeding too late fully to profit by the protection afforded by law. Vast numbers of this pretty gentle Gull are killed yearly, for the sake of their plumage. Even when the breeding places are left, the poor birds are shot in thousands out at sea. The Kittiwake is the most trustful perhaps of the Gulls, and a flock will remain hovering round a boat until almost decimated by the gunners. The young Kittiwake is widely known along the coast under the name of “Tarrock.”