19^3- MacGinlkv. — Notes from ihcSkelligs. 2I3 
never letting go the original hold. There are numerous 
cases where the weaker gets exhausted and dies fighting, 
but the extraordinary part is, in case of their dropping 
into the sea they always separate before touching the water. 
It would be hard to credit that the graceful little Kitti- 
wake lights with such determination that there was a case 
last year here of a pair of them drowning each other. 1 
have often seen them hght for possession, but never with 
such venom as the solitary instance I mention. 
I have never seen the Shearwaters in daylight coming to 
or leaving their nests. If caught in the burrow (their nest) 
after dawn, they remain there all day till night sets in. 
Hundreds of these birds breed on Puffin Island, where they 
can be seen in flocks after sunset hovering round till dark 
sets in, but they never have any intercourse with their 
nests while there is daylight. 
Their nest is a deep rabbit -burrow, sometimes seven or 
eight feet underground, or underneath a large rock, where 
hidden from view they feed their young throughout the night, 
for they never bring food nor are seen there at all in the 
day-time. In the night-time also the young leave. I have 
often found them in the early morning, they having struck 
the protection -rail on their downward flight when leaving. 
By the aid of the light one can see these birds hovering round 
incessantly screaming, but all is silent as day dawns. 
The Stormy Petrels can be found on their nests underneath 
the stones at any time during the day. They are not seen 
feeding, or having any intercourse with their nests in day- 
light. They are night-birds also, very easily attracted by 
the light with evil consequences — many of them are killed 
in this wa}^ especially later on when the young are leaving. 
Every dark night the}/ are round the light, but are never 
seen in the day-time, except on the nest. They feed and 
bring their young away in the night-time also. The young 
of those birds are the best developed I know before they 
leave. One could hardly discern any striking difference 
in size between the parents and offspring. They are the 
last that leave here, generally about the middle of Sep- 
tember. 
