NOTES ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN SHETLAND 217 



COMMON GULL, Lams canns. The chief breeding-haunts of this 

 species are on the islands and borders of inland lochs : less 

 frequently grassy islands off the shore or low rocky stacks 

 without vegetation are chosen. 



HERRING GULL, Larus argentatus. Occurs in great abundance in 

 Shetland, breeding in large colonies on the rocky fore-shores only. 



LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus fuscus. Another abundant 

 species throughout the isles, nesting at times with the last- 

 named species on the rocks. Its chief breeding-haunts, how- 

 ever, are low-lying islands on the inland lochs. In desolate 

 tracts these birds sometimes build on the edge of a loch, or 

 even in a moss. 



GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, Larus marinus. Is generally dis- 

 tributed throughout the islands, breeding in isolated pairs or 

 small colonies in many places. Its important breeding-stations 

 are the summits of inaccessible rock-stacks, one such, Gruna 

 Stalk in Eshaness, containing about thirty pairs of this bird. 



KITTIWAKE, Rissa tridactyla. A very abundant species at the 

 fishing-stations. The nesting-haunts of this species are more 

 local than those of the other common gulls, and are generally 

 safer from intrusion. 



GREAT SKUA, Stercorarius catarrhactes. I found a pair of these 

 birds in a haunt not generally recognised as one of their 

 breeding-stations, and I suspected from the boldness of their 

 actions that they had escaped molestation. In another district 

 of Shetland, an egg, which had all the appearance of a Great 

 Skua's, was given to me. This egg, which has been seen by 

 Mr. Eagle Clarke, was taken in a hitherto unsuspected region 

 occupied by Richardson's Skua. 



RICHARDSON'S SKUA, Stercorarius crepidatus. This species occurs 

 commonly throughout the area I examined, and its wild mewing 

 cry is one of the familiar bird-calls in Shetland. I have seen six 

 of them harassing a flock of Gulls at the same time. I found 

 the first young birds on 2 6th June, and saw birds of the year 

 on the wing on 23rd July. In 1895 I discovered a downy 

 chick lying dead in a moss in Aithsting, and, on opening it to 

 see the nature of its food, found its stomach crammed with 

 spiders. 



STORMY PETREL, Procellaria pelagica. We took the eggs of this 

 species from a small island lying off Yell on 8th July. On five 

 out of the six eggs taken we caught the sitting bird. I took 

 two birds, which proved to be male and female, thus showing 

 that both sexes incubate. 



MANX SHEARWATER, Puffinus anglorum. I met with this bird 

 abundantly during the latter half of July in the neighbourhood 

 20 C 



