BIRD-MIGRATION AT ST KILDA 193 



were the Greater Wheatear, White Wagtail, and 

 Meadow-Pipit, all of which are common summer visitors 

 to Iceland, and hence, on the geographical grounds 

 already mentioned, their appearance in numbers at St 

 Kilda is not surprising. 



Full particulars of the occurrences of the birds named 

 and of the rest of the species observed by myself and 

 previous visitors to St Kilda will be found in the succeed- 

 ing chapter. 



As I did not land on Soay, Boreray, or Levenish, 

 or on the very remarkable stacks of Lii and An Armin — 

 all of which are the resort of vast numbers of sea- 

 fowl during the summer — I would refer anyone desir- 

 ing information regarding them to Mr Heathcote's S^ 

 Kilda, or to Dr Wiglesworth's St Kilda and its Birds. 

 On the 8th of October 1910, we steamed close under 

 the great cliffs of Boreray, in an interval when the island 

 was brilliantly illumined by a gleam of sunshine which 

 burst through the mist after a rain squall. The scene then 

 presented was singularly beautiful and impressive — a 

 study in dark frowning cliffs, slashed with steep grassy 

 slopes of the brightest emerald green. Though only 

 half a square mile in area, Boreray rises to the majestic 

 height of 1200 feet, is everywhere precipitous, and 

 is further remarkable for the rugged grandeur of its 

 contours. FVom a scenic point of view, I should doubt 

 if it has a rival in British seas. Gannets still crowded 

 its ledges, and some of the young were being tossed 

 in the cradle of the deep, apparently in a helpless 

 condition. 



Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Fulmars were 

 still in the vicinity of the island. Of greater interest 

 was the presence of numerous Great Shearwaters, as 



II. N 



