Among the Sea Birds 41 



clutching the bird under the beak, and brought it forth, 

 whilst I secured the solitary egg. 



Having noted the shape and size — a little bigger 

 than that of the wood pigeon's — I replaced it care- 

 fully, and on the keeper releasing the puffin, it at once 

 hurriedly shuffled back to its accustomed place, much 

 in the manner of the farmyard hen ; neither was it 

 scared by our intrusion. Its voracity is proverbial, 

 and is excelled only by the cormorant. 



Oyster-catchers are fairly numerous, and may be 

 seen on most of the islands. 



On Staple Island — known as the home of the last- 

 named bird — there are the remains of an old light- 

 house, and on the top of the ruined walls a pair of 

 oyster-catchers regularly build their nest. From the 

 nomenclature of the bird one might think that oysters 

 form their chief food, but in reality they usually feed 

 upon mussels, cockles, limpets, and other common 

 shell-fish, so that they are probabl}' - named on the 

 well-known principle according to which Lime Tree 

 Avenue was so called because there were no limes in it. 



' ' They call hirn oyster-catcher, but you really must not think 

 That oysters solely and alone form all his meat and drink. 

 He knows they are expensive, and a thrifty bird is he, 

 So he's always quite contented with a limpet for his tea. 

 Mussels, cockles, starfish, scallops, he will also not decline, 

 If they're served up nicely when you ask him out to dine." 



The cormorants are very interesting birds, and formerly 

 a large colony nested on Megstone Island. They build 

 their nests well above high water mark, but one spring 

 the tide rose so high that many nests and eggs were 

 washed away. The next season the birds resorted to 

 the Harcar Rocks — a spot ever to be remembered as 

 the scene of Grace Darling's bravery, when the ship 

 Forfarshire was wrecked in the year 1838. Here the 

 cormorants fared little better than before, for a big 

 battle ensued between them and the gulls ; so the 

 following year they returned to the Megstone, their 

 former haunt, though a few are still found on the place 

 I have mentioned and also on the Wamses Island, but the 

 gull is a formidable foe. 



