Western Bird Guide: Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific

by Charles K. Reed

39. Pagophila alba. 17 inches.

The little Snow Gull, as it is often called, in the breeding season is entirely white; the bill is tipped with yellow and there is a red ring about the eye.

Nest.—Of grasses and seaweed, on the cliffs in the Arctic regions. Three grayish buff eggs are laid marked with brown and black (2.30 × 1.70).

Range.—North of the Arctic Circle, and winters south to British Columbia.

PACIFIC KITTIWAKE.

40a. Rissa tridactyla pollicaris. 16 inches.

These birds breed in immense rookeries on some of the islands in the Bering Sea.

Nest.—On almost inaccessible cliffs, made of sticks, moss and seaweed, making the interior cup-shaped, to hold the two or three eggs, which are buffy brown or grayish, spotted with darker shades of brown (2.20 × 4.70).

Range.—Coast of the North Pacific, wintering as far south as Lower California.