LETTER II. 45 



his approach at all, and it would be almost impossible for the home- 

 ward bound sea-fowl shooter to molest him. 



The Petrel breeds upon many of the little wild unfrequented 

 islands which surround Iona and Staffa ; the latter itself is one 

 station. But upon these islands I have found their nests made 

 in such very dissimilar positions that it would make one suppose 

 they belonged to distinct species. The first place that I fell in 

 with them was on a little islet about a league south of Iona, 

 named Soay. It is high and rocky, with grassy banks on its 

 summit, which feed about a dozen sheep ; these banks, which are 

 about eighty feet above the level of the sea, are composed of a 

 soft buttery kind of soil, which cuts, with a spade, like new 

 cheese ; and it is in deep burrows formed in this muddy soil that 

 the Petrels make their nest. These banks are perforated by 

 numbers of holes, having the size and appearance of rabbit 

 burrows. If one of these is carefully cut out with a spade, two, 

 or sometimes three, very small apertures, no larger than mouse 

 holes, are discovered opening out of this large entrance, which 

 serves as a lobby to as many distinct Petrel residences. By 

 continuing to dig up the course of these minute galleries, which 

 extend from three to four feet in length, and are at a considerable 

 depth below the surface, we at last come to a small nest com- 

 posed of a little dried grass, generally of a sea pink, loosely laid 

 together, containing a single white egg ; the egg is quite warm, 

 and by searching a little further the bird is sure to be found. 

 It allows itself to be caught and taken up without resistance, only 

 giving a faint squeak, and then ejects about a teaspoonful of 

 thick yellow oil from its bill ; the quantity and quality of this 



