THE HAWFINCH AND OTHER BIRDS IN SHETLAND 155 



The weird cry of the " Calloo " (i.e. Long-tailed Duck), 

 with his oft-repeated " ca-ca-ca-caoo ca-ca-oo," and the crisp 

 sound of the boat ploughing through the thin ice, furnish 

 the musical accompaniment ; the cry of birds being almost 

 the only other sound which breaks the death-like silence of 

 a Shetland winter day. 



As the boat passes along the shore, Redshanks, Sand- 

 pipers, the ever-present " Sandy-loo " (Ringed Plover), and 

 other shore birds will be seen, too busy to take any notice 

 of the intruder. 



Now and again a Curlew will rise and make off as 

 though he suddenly remembered some forgotten engagement 

 on which his life depended ! 



Then round this point perhaps a Great Northern Diver 

 or two will be seen, and the Eider Duck in his handsome 

 dress. 



Black Guillemots in gray and black plumage, Shags, and 

 Common Guillemots abound everywhere, and now and again 

 a flock of Red-breasted Mergansers or perhaps some Shear- 

 waters pass by in a great hurry. 



Of course the gun is kept ready for a Duck or some 

 other edible bird, for in winter salt fish and tinned foods 

 become monotonous ; and one naturally wonders how the 

 older generation kept so healthy on such an unvaried diet as 

 they must have existed on it must have been a case of the 

 " survival of the fittest." 



The following notes will show how my wanderings during 

 the past winter and spring have been rewarded. 



Of course it is impossible to see every bird which deigns 

 to visit our rocky home, but if one keeps his eyes open 

 and notes at the time all that one sees and hears, and if one 

 does not mind being frequently drenched with rain and 

 sometimes even driven off his course by the wind, a winter 

 may be very comfortably (?) put in in Shetland by a keen 

 bird-lover. 



SHORT-EARED OWL, Asia accipitrinus. A good many seen from 24th 

 October 1903, and on through the winter. 



WHOOPER SWAN, Cygnus musicus. A few passed south, u A.M., 

 25th October 1903. At S P.M. on 28th November 1903, five 

 flying in a northerly direction. At 6 P.M. on 24th March 



