158 BIRDS OF THE WAVE AND WOODLAND 



birthright of supremacy, roam about among the moors and 

 valleys, finding their food where they can, killing weakly 

 lambs, or joining the raven in an ignoble meal on carrion. 



Sometimes, strange to say, this creature of vast spaces and 

 dizzy heights will nest in trees or even among reeds upon the 

 ground. But its characteristic haunts are the wildest and 

 most rugged sea-cliffs, and its hunting-grounds the rocky islets 

 or tall upstanding bluffs and " peopled rocks " upon which the 

 sea-folk cluster in their colonies. 



" TJic high and froiviu'jig scaur, the haunt of sca-foivlT 



Mackay, 



" The pregnant cliff's, the sea-birds'* citadels" 



Montgomery. 



" Yonder peopled rocks, 

 To luhosc ivild solitude, from ivorlds ttnknoivn, 

 The birds of passage transmigrating come — 



^ w ^ ^ ^ 



By Heaven's directive spirit here to raise 



Their temporary realm T 



Mallet. 



No one, however indifferent he may be to the ordinary 

 sights and sounds of Nature, can maintain even the affec- 

 tation of unconcern when visiting for the first time the 



