i6o JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



are the descendants of criminals that were banished 

 to the islands ; but on the other hand, there is a 

 tradition amongst the people themselves that their 

 forefathers were smugglers or outlaws. I found 

 the male population exceedingly civil, obliging, 

 merry fellows, anxious to assist me in every way 

 they could, but always with an eye to the " baw- 

 bees " — the result of contact with tourists. The 

 ladies, too, were not wanting in hospitality to the 

 "Sassenach" (as we southerners are termed), many 

 of them bringing eggs and birds as soon as it 

 became known that I had come to the islands 

 especially to collect and examine such objects. 



Strange as the fact may seem, when I landed at 

 St. Kilda scarcely a sea-bird was to be seen, save 

 a few Puffins and Gulls in the Bay ; the great 

 bird-stations are behind the hills, where the cliffs 

 fall almost sheer down to the open Atlantic, and 

 on the adjoining islands and stacks. Land birds, 

 however, were much more apparent. One of the 

 first to arrest my attention was the Hooded Crow, 

 remarkably tame, perching on the roofs of the 

 cottages with as little concern as the Sparrow in 

 a crowded city. Next to this species the Starling 

 and the Wheatear were the most common, the 

 latter bird being a regular spring visitor. I had 



