NOTES ON THE MAMMALS AND BIRDS OF ROUS AY. 71 



one puts its bill into hers and takes out tlie food. 

 This is done until the young one is satisfied. The 

 old bird never feeds the young until she has been 

 some time with it, however importunate the young 

 bird may be, no doubt because she feels the food is 

 not in a fit state for it to digest easily. 



Fam. Stercorariince. 

 Richardson's Skua (Lestris crepidatus). As far as 

 I could learn, no s^Decies of Skua bred on Rousay or 

 the adjacent islands, and the two or three that were 

 seen were in the autumn, and apparently of this 

 species. 



Fam. Procellariidce. 



Stormy Petrel ( Procellaria pelagica). It requires 

 a good deal of local knowledge to discover the 

 breeding haunts of these little birds, and it was only 

 on incidentally mentioning the bird to a friend of 

 mine in Kirkwall that I found out where to go for 

 its eggs. The Green Holms are situated in the middle 

 of the Westray Firth, and to make a successful effort 

 to visit them in a small boat, such as I had, requires 

 a fine day and suitable tides, as very little wind 

 raises such a sea as makes the islands unapproach- 

 able. We first tried the larger of the two islands ; 

 but although we looked for a long time nothing 

 rewarded our exertions, and it was quite by chance 

 we went on to the smaller islands. Here we found 

 no suitable cairns of stones ; but on trying a small 

 hole, which appeared like a crack in the peat, of 

 which the centre of the island was composed, I felt 

 something soft and warm. On withdrawing my hand 

 I saw for an instant a small bird with a white rump 

 pass a little opening. I put my hand in again and 

 found an e^^ which I kne^v to be a Petrel's. I then 

 tried the other part of the hole into which I had 

 seen the bird go, and drew out the first Stormy 

 Petrel I ever handled. We subsequently found two 

 more, getting the birds as well. When placed on the 

 ground they made very feeble attempts at walking, 



