250 fApril, 



to find that Uupcecilia rupicola, taking advantage of the warm still sunshine 

 was flying commonly over the JEtipatorium cannabinum on the bank. By the 

 time that the patience of my companions was nearly exhausted, I had secured a score 

 of decent specimens, and had made the far more important capture of a specimen 

 of Opadia funehrana, which was sitting on a bramble-leaf under some blackthorn 

 bushes. It is the first and only time that I have seen this species at liberty, and 

 the specimen is larger than those usually reared. 



A few miles further, the road lay through some fields, and a corner of luxuriant 

 weeds, among which Stachys sylvatica was prominent, attracted my attention. In 

 a very few minutes Mhulea stachydalis was disturbed, and, in spite of their cowering 

 and creeping close to the ground, nine specimens were secured. 



On arriving at the coast the sea-birds claimed all our attention. The " Stacks," 

 three in number — detached and inaccessible, but overlooked by the cliffs — had their 

 broad sloping or flattish summits absolutely covered with guillemots and razorbills 

 (both locally called elligooks, elligoos, or elligugs, — for the orthography like the ety- 

 mology is obscure), and formed a wonderful sight, every inch of space being apparently 

 occupied. (I grieve to say that the largest rock with it^ countless birds sitting erect, 

 has been irreverently compared — by a young lady of course — to a pincusJiion). 



Below the flatter surface and shelves of rock occupied by the " elligooks," 

 every chink and cranny was taken possession of by one or two of the pretty little 

 kittywake gulls, from the roundness of their heads looking as they sat like a host of 

 owls. All around, the sea was alive with hundreds of birds swimming, diving, and 

 flying to and from the rocks. The cliffs themselves, composed of mountain lime- 

 stone, several hundred feet in perpendicular height, rough, jagged, and worn by the 

 eternal beat of the waves and the terrible winter storms, had every available shelf 

 occupied by the larger common gidls, while swarms of predatory daws and crows 

 rested in the holes. While I waited to allow the young folks to go round to a 

 different point where a finer view of the bird-covered rocks could be obtained, I was 

 highly gratified to see a beautiful Cornish chough alight within twenty yards, 

 showing its red legs and beak to great advantage. A little further on we were 

 disappointed to find a rocky pinnacle, upon which I had previously seen a Peregrine 

 falcon sitting on her nest, deserted, and altliough several of these fine hawks had 

 flown around a week or two before, not one was seen on this occasion. Beyond this 

 was a tremendous chasm where a portion of the inner rock had given way — under- 

 mined by the sea — leaving a massive arch of rock, beneath which the waves roared 

 and tumbled. In this protected spot Asplenium marinum, Limbarda crithmoides, 

 Crithmum maritimum, and other sea-side plants were gi-owing luxuriantly, and on 

 shelves above the archway the kittywake gulls were setting near enough to toss a 

 biscuit upon them. When disturbed, they merely flew round and round the chasm, 

 and settled again. 



Passing along the coast, headland after headland was occupied, more or less, by 

 the larger gidls on the higher shelves of the precipices, and the guillemots and 

 razorbills along the rocky ledges above high water mark, but in greatly diminished 

 numbers. 



In the meantime wc had seen very few Lepidoptera. Satyms Semele was 

 common of course on the rocky slopes, but hardly any other day flying species seems 

 able to exist on these bare downs and storm-bcatan crags. An exception must be 



