Ornithology of St. Kilda. 91 



species, not eveu by name. The Great Auk^s only link with 

 the present day is the grey-haired weather-beaten old St.- 

 Kildan with whom I conversed respecting its visit so long 

 ago. 



Fratercula arctica. " Bongir.'^ 



This comical little bird is one of the commonest at St. 

 Kilda. It occurs there in thousands and tens of thousands. 

 Every little bit of suitable cliff contains its colony of Puffins, 

 and the birds may be seen flymg round and round above the 

 highest clifts, or dashing from them in rapid flight to the 

 water, whilst the sea iu many parts is almost black with 

 them. When walking under the clifls I Avas often startled 

 by a shower of loose pebbles and earth, dislodged by the busy 

 Puffins burrowing far above. The Puffin, notwithstanding 

 his small wings, flies well and gracefully, and often hovers 

 perfectly motionless in the air, with his bright orange-red 

 legs outstretched to guide him in his course. Puffins often fly 

 about in the air like Starlings for a quarter of an hour or more. 

 They dive well, but not so frequently as the Guillemot. 

 The Puffin arrives at St. Kilda on the 1st of May, almost as 

 regularly as clockwork, and leaves in autumn. Doon is the 

 paradise of Puffins ; the whole island is undermined with 

 them, and the air is darkened with birds as they fly up from 

 the grassy banks or perching-places on the cliffs, or from 

 their nest-holes. During the whole time I was on Doon the 

 Puffins were flying round us in tens of thousands, and quite 

 a rushing noise was made with their wings. 



Phalacrocorax carbo. 



The Cormorant occurs very sparingly at St. Kilda. 



Phalacrocorax graculus. " Sgarbh.'^ 



The Shag is commoner at St. Kilda than the preceding 

 species, and breeds in the several caverns round the rock- 

 bound coasts. 



Sula bassana. " Souler.'^ 



The Gaunet breeds in tens of thousands on the island of 

 Borreay and the adjacent " stacks.^^ Stack Lii is the great 



