244 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



birds on the shore in winter that have been cast up after strong 

 northerly gales, and some of the specimens were quite fresh. 



Black Guillemot {Uria grylle). This species breeds sparingly 

 all round the coast of the island : not in colonies, but a pair here 

 and there. They nest in cracks in the rocks and under boulders, 

 where they lay one or two eggs. After the breeding season the 

 plumage changes so much that they do not look like the same 

 birds. 



Puffin (Fratercula arctiai). Puffins do not breed on the 

 island, but more or less of them are to be seen round the coast all 

 summer, and specimens are cast on shore dead during winter. 



Great Northern Diver {Colymbus gladalis). Common round 

 the coast during autumn, winter, and spring ; leaving for their 

 breeding haunts about the beginning of May, and returning again 

 towards the latter end of August. I remember that the neck of one 

 shot in Scarinish harbour was abnormally thick, and on shaking it, 

 expecting fish to be ejected, about a dozen small crabs came out of 

 the bird's mouth. They were still alive, and crawled about. But I 

 think fish is the bird's principal food. The natives are fond of this 

 bird as an article of food. 



Black-throated Diver {Colymbus arcticus). This Diver is of 

 more rare occurrence than the previous species, but I notice a few 

 round the coast in the early spring every year. The food and 

 habits are the same as the Great Northern Diver. 



Red-throated Diver {Colymbus septentrionalis). Common 

 round the coast of the island during late autumn and winter, 

 and occasionally one on Loch a Phuil. 



Great Crested Grebe {Podicipes cristatus). Only a rare 

 straggler to the island. I have noticed a few single birds at long 

 intervals, and I once saw a pair as late as the month of April 

 on Loch Vasapol. 



Slavonian Grebe {Podicipes auritus). This Grebe is common 

 during the winter and early spring months on all the fresh-water 

 lochs, and a few of them now and again on the sea at Gott Bay. The 

 birds, which are always single, keep constantly diving. I sometimes 

 see them diving and feeding in tarns. They leave the island 

 towards the latter end of March. 



Little Grebe {Podicipes fluviatilis). The Dabchick is fairly 

 common during winter and spring on the lochs, and the birds 



