NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF ST. KILDA 75 



NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF ST. KILDA. 



By Rev. NEIL MACKENZIE. 

 Compiled from his Memoranda by Rev. J. B. MACKENZIE, F.S.A. (Scot.). 



MY father went to St. Kilda in 1829, and during the fourteen 

 years which he spent there as missionary, was always much 

 interested in the birds which frequented the island. On his 

 arrival he found, as he expected, that the inhabitants were both 

 temporally and spiritually far behind the rest of the country. 

 Full of energy and enthusiasm, he not only attended zealously 

 to their spiritual interests, but at once set about to improve 

 their temporal condition in many ways. This necessitated his 

 being almost constantly with them, as they would do nothing 

 out of the old routine when left by themselves. In order 

 to gain their confidence he went frequently with them on 

 their fowling expeditions, and did not hesitate to go with 

 them into what they considered the most dangerous places. 

 In this way he not only heard all that they could tell, but 

 made constant observations on his own account. I remember 

 when I was a lad, and he was my teacher, that he always 

 made me do my compositions on bird subjects. This, I think, 

 it was that led himself to note down from time to time, 

 during 1840 and 1841, the results of his own observations. 

 Several of these notes are lost, as they were written at 

 different times on separate pieces of paper. I have copied 

 out all I can find. There is nothing about the GREAT AUK 

 \Alca impennis\ but from conversations which I have had 

 with him I know that he made all possible inquiry. None 

 of the natives then living had ever seen it, but they had 

 heard of a bird of that kind, which they vaguely described. 

 After consideration of all that he could ascertain about it, 

 his conclusion was that at the time when the island was un- 

 inhabited it did breed there in some numbers, but that after 

 the island was inhabited it gradually got exterminated by 

 the frequent robbing of its eggs. This could very easily be 

 done, as the places where it could land and breed were very 

 few, and all on the main island and near the village. 



I now come to what I find recorded, and give it as nearly 



