16 Dr. R. 0. Cunningham on the Solan Goose. 



over the cave, has furnished the site of the ancient chapel of the 

 island, while the upper and largest was once occupied by the 

 garden. The principal birds that breed on the Bass are the 

 Solan Goose, the Foolish Guillemot {Ui'ia troile), the Kittiwake 

 [Larus rissa), the Cormorant [Phalacrocorax carbo), the Shag 

 {Phalacrocorax graculus), the Razorbill [Alca torda),t\ie. Herring- 

 Gull [Larus argentatus), the Common Gull {Larus canus), the 

 Great Black-backed Gull [Larus marinus), and the Puffin [Fra- 

 tercula arctica). The Black Guillemot [Uria grylle) is men- 

 tioned by Ray, but has not, I believe, been seen by subsequent 

 observers ; and the Peregrine Falcon [Falco peregririus) and 

 Eider-Duck [Somateria mollissima), which used to build on the 

 island, have for some time disappeared. 



The Solan Geese are met with in great numbers on all the 

 several faces of the rock, and one or two colonies occur near the 

 landing-places. Macgillivray estimates the number which he 

 saw on the occasion of a visit to the island in 1831 at about 

 twenty thousand; and, judging from the multitudes I saw when 

 I visited it in 1862, I do not think there has been any material 

 decrease since that time. The Gannets make their appearance 

 about the middle of February or beginning of March, and, as a 

 general rule, take their departure in October. A few, however, 

 seem to remain throughout the winter ; for they are not unfre- 

 quently seen during that season by the fishermen of the Firth, 

 and towards the close of last December I obtained a full-grown 

 individual which had been caught in a herring-net. The nests 

 were described by the older observers as built of sticks ; but 

 either they were mistaken or the Geese have changed their cus- 

 toms ; for nowadays, as I can testify from personal observations, 

 they are constructed entirely of grass and seaweeds, particularly 

 the Fucus digitatus and other of the common Fucoids. They 

 are built in the form of a flattened cone, the base of which " is 

 about 20 inches in diameter, with a shallow terminal cavity;" 

 and their artificers exhibit great industry in collecting materials 

 for them, tearing up grass and turf with their powerful bills, 

 and frequently engaging in conflicts with one another during 

 the process. 



They lay but one egg ; but if it is removed another is depo- 



