6 HULL SCIENTIFIC AND FIELD NATURALISTS CLUB. 



These Protection Acts aroused the bitterest hostility 

 among the Flamborough fishermen, both because they were 

 deprived of the fees derived from taking out the so-called 

 sportsmen in boats to the scene of butchery, and because 

 they grudged the birds the fish upon which they live. Their 

 food consists mainly of the fry of the herring, but also of 

 any young fish of suitable size (sand eels, &c), and various 

 crustaceans. After all man's needs are supplied there must 

 surely be more than enough for the birds, which, as far as I 

 am aware, have never made any sensible diminution in the 

 quantity of fish. The Member who was mainly responsible 

 for the first Protection Act, the late Christopher Sykes, 

 lost the support of the Flambro' voters for many years in 

 consequence. 



The present breeding-ground extends from Sehvick Bay, 

 under the lighthouse, westward to where the cliff disappears 

 below Speeton, and the species breeding are as follows :— 

 The House Martin, building beneath the rocky ledges. The 

 Jackdaw and Carrion Crow, who here keep up the reputation 

 of their family for thieving. The Wheatear I have seen in 

 June on the cliff top, but have no proof its breeding there. 

 The Rock Pipit, whose nest is perhaps the most difficult of 

 all nests to locate ; its entrance is generally a hole about 

 \\ inch wide under a tuft of grass, and on the approach of 

 an intruder the cock bird gives the alarm, the hen slips off 

 her eggs, and both sit chirping at him from various points 

 on shore or cliff till his patience is exhausted. The Kestrel, 

 a few pairs of which breed on the ledges, and are taken 

 annually. The Cor mo rant frequently perches in the rocks, 

 but has no breeding-place nearer the Whitby district and 

 the wreck of the " Beaconsfield " at Aldborough. The Stock- 

 dove and Rock-dove, which apparently breed separately. A 

 pair or two of Herring Gulls, which are, however, generall) 

 robbed of their eggs and driven away. The Kittiwake Gull, 

 whose plaintive cry and beautiful plumage form so great 

 an ornament to the cliffs, and last, but not least, the Puffin,. 

 Razor-Bill, and Guillemot. 



The Puffin is interesting mainly from its singular appear- 

 ance. The horny sheath assumed over the bill in the 

 breeding season, and the red skin round the gape, and the 

 two appendages above and below the eye, give the bird the 

 appearance of being altogether overweighted by the bill. It 

 has an extraordinarily comical effect, and some people have 

 been illnatured enough to turn this against the bird and 

 say it looks a snob. In the Shetlands, when anyone looks 



