MANX SHEARWATER. 23 



Saxby says, is quite incorrect, and the Editor remembers 

 seeing large numbers one forenoon off Unst. 



In Ireland there are in all probability a good many breed- 

 ing-places among the little visited or scantily populated" 

 islands on the west coast. The Editor has taken its eggs on 

 Eathlin Island, off the coast of Antrim, where, as in Donegal, 

 the name ' Fachach ' is used for the adults as well as the 

 young ; the Skelligs, off Kerry, is another spot ; and there 

 are also some stations in the St. George's Channel. 



The Author was favoured by the late Mr. D. W. Mitchell 

 with the following account of the habits of this species, as 

 observed by himself off the coast of Cornwall : — 



" To the westward of St. Agnes, in the Scilly group, lies 

 a barren island called Annet. Its northern shore is abrupt 

 and craggy, it gradually slopes towards the south, and nar- 

 rows into a sort of peninsula, where the sandy soil is rich 

 enough to produce a dense growth of short ferns. Here 

 is the stronghold of the Shearwaters. Sit down on a rock 

 which commands the little territory, and you will see nothing 

 but the Terns, who have a station on the higher and central 

 part of the island, and are making a flight of inquiry very 

 much like the Black-headed Gulls in your vignette. Yes, 

 you will see a hundred or two of Oyster-catchers, who do not 

 like your landing so near their nests, and make short journeys 

 hither and thither, whistling all the while like birds possessed. 

 You will see two or three pairs of Turnstones, and a few 

 Eing Dotterel ; perhaps a Curlew. You may wait all a 

 sunny day in June, but not a Shearwater will you see on land 

 or water. There are plenty near you all the time, however, 

 as you may ascertain by the odour which issues from the 

 first burrow you look into among the ferns. As soon as 

 the sun is down you will see a little party of five or six 

 flitting silently across the sound, or steering out to sea. 

 The latest fishers from the colony of Terns are coming 

 home from the sandy shallows, five or six miles away, with 

 their throats and beaks crammed with Lance-fish, when 

 the Shearwaters begin to wake. You will not see them 

 come out of their holes ; you first catch sight of them 



