418 Eggs and Birds found 



placed in small tufts of grass growing close to the edge of 

 the loch ; they were formed of dried grass, and were about 

 the size of a titlark's, but much deeper. The eggs are con- 

 siderably smaller than those of the dunlin, and beautifully 

 spotted all over with brown. They had but just commenced 

 laying (June 13.), as we found only from one to two eggs in each 

 nest ; but we were informed (by a boy whom we had engaged 

 in our service) that they always lay four, and are called by 

 the name of the halfwel. It evidently appears to me that this is 

 a distinct species from either the red phalarope (P. hyper- 

 boreus Latham^ Lobipes hyperboreus Cuvier), or grey pha- 

 larope (P. lobatus Latham, P. platyrhynchus Temminck), I 

 have a specimen of the latter by me, shot January 11. 1828, 

 which is considerably larger than the red-necked phalarope. 



The Foolish Guillemot (UV/'a Troile Latham), — This we 

 found in abundance upon all the headlands, more particularly 

 on the face of the Island of Copinshay, where they are very 

 numerous ; resorting to the projecting ledges of the rocks 

 that face the sea, for the purpose of depositing their single 

 egg upon the bare rock. Although we saw a great many, 

 there were not two alike as to colour ; in size and shape there 

 is no material difference. 



The Razor-hill [K'lca Torda i.). — This we found equally 

 numerous as the last, and occupying the same rocks, and, like 

 the individuals of that species, depositing their single egg 

 upon the bare rock, without any nest whatever; but their 

 eggs do not materially differ one from another, except that in 

 some the blotches are rather darker than in others : they gene- 

 rally are of a dirty white, blotched with a pale rust colour, 

 and both ends nearly of the same size, not near so much 

 pointed as those of the foolish guillemot. 



The Black Guillemot (\J\ia Grylle Latham, IJ^ria mhior 

 Stephens.). — This beautiful bird differs from the two pre- 

 ceding species in not resorting to the same spots for the pur- 

 pose of incubation ; and, with a few exceptions, its principal 

 place of breeding is upon a small holm (an island without 

 any habitation) lying to the eastward of Papa Westra, where 

 it is very numerous, and would scarcely move from off the 

 rocks on our approach. I cannot find that any naturalist has 

 given a faithful description of the eggs of this bird : in Ren- 

 nie*s edition of Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary, it is stated 

 (p. 233.) "that it lays one egg, of a dirty white, blotched with 

 pale rust colour, which is deposited under ground, or in some 

 hole in the rocks." This is evidently an error, that being the 

 egg of the razor-bill (Jlca Torda), In several dozens of 

 eggs that came under our observation, we invariably found 

 two together, and they were deposited upon the bare ground, 



