144 THE GANNET 



told l)y the minister of the island in 1827 was not far 

 above it, viz., that at that time when the population was 

 twice as numerous as it is now, the take of Gannets in 

 round numbers approached 15,000. 



Fourthly, another good naturalist and recent visitor to 

 St. Kilda, who has made an attempt, which is evidently 

 a well-considered one, to arrive at a just calculation of the 

 number of Gannets at the present day, is Dr. Joseph 

 Wiglesworth.* He was at St. Kilda in June, 1902. Speak- 

 ing of Gannets, he says : " This bird breeds in enormous 

 numbers in one locality only of the group, viz.. Stack Lii 

 and Stack an Armin, and the adjoining cliffs on the west 

 and north sides of Boreray. It is not resident, leaving the 

 rocks after the young have flown, and is very rarely seen 

 about in the winter. The largest concentration of these 

 birds relative to area is on Stack Lii, the entire top of which 

 is perfectly white with them, as well as the encircling ledges ; 

 but Stack an Armin is not greatly inferior to its neighbour 

 in this respect, although the birds are definitely less 

 numerous there. On the cliffs of Boreray there are as 

 many birds as on the Stacks, but these being spread 

 over so much greater an area, the effect is not so striking. 

 A few birds [i.e., Gannets] are seen about the Stacks 



* " St. Kilda and Its Birds," 1903. This little book is the fullest 

 account of the birds since Martin's. 



