288 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



" with faint dark spots scarcely discernible. They feed the young 

 " until they are nearly fledged, and the young follow their parents 

 "as near to the water as they can, and generally have only one 

 " range of cliff to fly over into the sea. 



" The information given in Chambers' ' Information for the 

 " People,' that the Puffin perches itself on the rocks overhanging 

 " the sea, and pounces down on the fish that chance to come that 

 " way, is erroneous, and quite foreign to the habits of the bird. 

 " It neither perches itself on overhanging cliffs, nor does it 

 " pounce on its prey in that manner. It will go fifty miles for its 

 " food. I often saw them and other rock-birds leave the island 

 " in large flocks, going straight for Skerry vore lighthouse, about 

 " the time in the morning when we were extinguishing the lights. 

 " I have been told by several old men, that when there were 

 " no merchants' shops in Barra and Uist, sixty years ago, the 

 " natives made their markets in Tobermory. They took fish and 

 " fat sheep, home-made cloth, or anything they had to dispose of, 

 " as well as boxes of birds' eggs, and sold or exchanged them for 

 " other necessaries. 



" When fog came on, as is often the case in summer, their only 

 " compass was the direction of the birds' flight, by which they were 

 " sure to be piloted to Barra Head, or Mingalay. I have been 

 " told also that when the saithe fishing did not do well with the 

 " Islay fishermen they would leave, and go to fish at the Mull of 

 " Kintyre. These fishermen told rne that the birds came there 

 " every morning and left about 4 p.m. This is possible, but I 

 ' ; think it likely that the birds they saw came from the coast of 

 " Ireland. 



" The Puffins come home with from 16 to 20 herring-soil, about 

 " an inch in length, in their bills. The only hold they take 

 " is between the mouth and the eye of each fish. It astonishes 

 " me how they can kill fish and keep hold of those they already 

 " have." 



[The Puffin lays only one egg, but at Barra Head, as well as 

 upon other stations, I have frequently found two eggs in the same 

 nesting-hole, side by side. These however, are laid by two 

 different birds. The slightly spotted eggs of the Puffin are 

 typical, but a few occur with quite bold and large distinct true * 

 colour markings. We possess such specimens from Faroe, Shiant 

 Isles, and other British localities. 



