NOTES. 55 



the possibility of any doubt arising as to the accuracy of his 

 identification. He was favoured \\ith a good opportunity for 

 watching the bird, and not only was it close in shore, but " it 

 spent most of its time preening and rising to shake itseh." 

 With his glasses he could see clearly the half-collar of white 

 streaks, as well as the ver}^ dark, almost black feathers on its 

 chin and throat. We had previously been together watching 

 the ]3assage of Red-throated Divers (0. septe7itrio7ialis) , with 

 which species he is quite familiar. It is possible that Black- 

 throated Divers pass along the Welsh coast in April much 

 more often than is commonly assumed. R. W. Jones. 



SLAUGHTER OF MANX SHEARWATERS BY 

 BLACK-BACKED GULLS. 



On the island of Annet in the Scilly Islands, large numbers 

 of sea-birds breed, consisting chiefly of Greater and Lesser 

 Black- backed Gulls, Puffins, Manx Shearwaters, Herring- 

 Gulls, Razorbills, and a few Oyster-catchers and some Shags. 

 Large numbers of Manx Shearwaters {Puflinus anglorum) are 

 slain by the two species of Black- backed Gulls, their skins, 

 in many cases turned inside out, being found in scores on the 

 ground frequented by these two species. Puffins are also 

 treated in a similar manner, but many fewer of these birds are 

 killed. All the remains I saw were dried up, but Mr. C. J. 

 King, of St. Mary's, informs me that he has often found them 

 freshly killed, and that they are done to death by the Gulls 

 tearing a hole in the abdomen to devour the entrails — literally, 

 I take it, drawing the unfortunate birds when living. The 

 Razorbills are evidently too formidable for even the Greater 

 Black- backed Gull to tackle, as they are left very much alone, 

 and I do not wonder at it, judging by the adults which I 

 handled, the thickest leather gauntlets being no protection 

 whatsoever against their formidable beaks. The Puffins 

 do Aot seem to have any fear of the Lesser Black-backed 

 Gull, judging by the way they sit cheek by jowl on the same 

 rock, so perhaps it is only the larger species which disembowels 

 them. Owing to my visiting the island by day, I only saw one 

 living Manx Shearwater, this being one which I picked up 

 in a landing-net at sea, about two miles from the island in 

 question, but the number nesting there is estimated locally 

 at between a hundred and a hundred-and-fifty thousand. 



H. W. Robinson. 



[In a most interestmg article on the Puffin by Mr. F. 



Heatherley, which appeared in Country Life, September 3rd, 



