MANX SHEARWATER. 287 



Stumps white ; the bill and feet are lead-blue, the webs flesh- 

 coloured. When placed on the ground the young crawled on 

 all fours, using the wing stumps and the weak tarsi. The old 

 bird at rest, lies prone on the breast and tarsi. 



Whether the bird makes any sound on the water or in diurnal 

 flight I cannot say, but at night it is noisy at the nesting colony. 

 The light-keepers told me that the " Mackerel Cocks " were 

 most clamorous after rain, and certainly at one colony a heavy 

 thunder shower enlivened them. At 10.30 p.m., when rain was 

 still falling, the noise began and lasted most of the night. The 

 birds flew fast, judging by the calls, for they were invisible in 

 the darkness. The light-keepers said that the birds exclaimed — 

 " It's your fault," with emphasis on the " your," and this is an 

 excellent simile. The calls vary, some being harsh and scold- 

 ing, others soft and crooning : Ii-y-co7'ka^ kitti-koo-roo^ kok-a- 

 kok (very quick), kok-a-?'oo-7-oo, It-is -yor-folt. The hard kok 

 was most frequent. At the end of August the southward move 

 begins, and in the first week in September, and at times a 

 little later, many are seen moving in strings along our shores, 

 and large numbers cross the land, dropping from their hosts 

 the weaklings in places far from the coast. These birds are 

 not storm driven, but have failed to keep up ; the records at 

 this season point to regular not occasional overland travels. 

 In winter the bird is rare in our seas. 



The adult Manx Shearwater is black above and white 

 beneath, the black merging with the white in delicate greys ; 

 the bill is blackish, the legs are black on the outer side, pinker 

 within, and the webs are blue ; the irides are described as 

 dark brown, but those of the birds I handled appeared to be 

 closed with a bluish nictitating membrane, though they ex- 

 hibited no daylight blindness when released. Length, 16 ins. 

 Wing, 9'5 ins. Tarsus, 175 ins. 



The Levantine Shearwater has the upper parts browner, the 

 under parts more dusky, and the axillaries smoky brown ; in 



