i62 Mr. Edward Bidwell 



limited quantities, as there are not many spots suitable for its 

 nest, if such we may call, the slight cup shaped hollow in the 

 sand, neatly paved with small stones, in which this bird deposits 

 its four pyriform eggs with the smaller ends downwards. Sir 

 Thomas Browne, the father of English Oologists, curiously 

 describes their position in the nest, on the authority of the 

 " Eringo diggers " as " That they were set upright like eggs 

 in salt." These nests often remain perfect for a year or two 

 after the young birds have left. On a small stretch of sand 

 on the Wide-opens I found a nest placed just above high 

 water mark on the ist August, containing a clutch of four 

 eggs. 



A few pairs of Oyster Catchers (Hceinatopus ostralegiis, 

 Liniiceus) resort to the Islands every summer, depositing their 

 eggs in the same situation as the Sandwich Tern. This bird may 

 be considered a grand addition to the avifauna of any locality. 

 Its striking plumage of black and white and bright orange bill, 

 being very conspicuous as it stands on some point of rock at 

 the water's edge, or skims with outstretched wings round the 

 rock-bound coast. When in Holland in winter time I have 

 been often struck with the enormous flocks of these birds 

 dotting the dark mud at low water as far as the eye could 

 see. 



The Turnstone (Strepsilas interpres, Limuens) m,ay be seen 

 here quite late into the summer. In the first week in June I 

 have seen hundreds evidently on passage to their northern 

 haunts, and again in July and August they may be seen in 

 small numbers. I have shot them on August the ist. 



The Eider Duck [Sotuateria nioUissima, Liitnceus) is 

 probably the bird of greatest interest to the English ornitholo- 

 gist, who here sees, in its most southerly and only English 

 breeding station- — if we except the Coquet Island, some ten 

 miles further south, where one or two pairs occasionally breed. 

 The nest of this bird is placed in various situations, sometimes 

 in the crevices of the shelving rocks, sometimes in the coarse 

 vegetation. I have found several in the large patches of 

 nettles on the Wide-opens, and when thus placed they are 

 probably much more safe from the marauding propensities 

 of the Black-backed Gulls. Although Eider down is an article 

 frequently spoken of, I suppose that comparatively few people 

 have seen it pure and unadulterated, and it must be seen in its 

 pure state for one to form any idea of its wonderful elasticity. 

 In June, 1880, I found a nest placed in a triangular fissure of 

 the rocks, it contained six eggs. I carefully collected every 

 scrap of down that I could see. On my return home I picked 

 out all the grass, lichen, &c., that was mixed in it, and I have 

 brought it to-night for your inspection. Its weight is just over 



