153 



On all tlie rocky and precipitous coasts of the British Isles this bird British 

 is found in the breeding season, but as a rule it avoids the low lying ^ ®^' 

 portions of our shores at this time, though not uncommon there during 

 the winter months. Thus it is not known to breed in Lincolnshire or East 

 Anglia, but on the other hand the nest has been found among the sandhills 

 of Walney Island, and Macpherson says that a pair or so may be found 

 in the Solway marshes, while a few breed even on the flat coast of Louth, 

 It shows a great partiality for islands, and there are few outlying holms 

 that are not tenanted by this bird, from the Blaskets and Scillies to 

 S. Kilda and the Shetlands. It is strictly maritime in its habits, and is 

 seldom seen at any distance from the sea.* 



On the Channel Islands it is very numerous, especially on Alderney, Con- 

 Sark, and Herm, as well as the adjacent islets, and is also found on the ^°^° ^ 

 rocky and broken coast and islets of N. W. France. On Ushant it is plentiful 

 according to Eagle Clarke. 



As a rule the nest is not an easy one to find, as the cock is usually Nest. 

 on the look out, and at his warning the hen slips quietly away from the 

 eggs. Both parents show great anxiety as long as one remains anywhere 

 near the nesting place. The site too is very variable: sometimes the nest 

 may be found within a few feet of high water, while at other times it 

 may be high up on some towering cliff, and Eagle Clarke took a nest on 

 Foula at a height of 1300 ft. It is often placed deep in a crevice of the 

 rocks, so that it is sometimes necessary to remove stones from the opening 

 before the eggs can be reached. The entrance is often partly concealed 

 by some maritime plant or by a curtain of ivy. Other sites which have 

 occasionally been used are holes in old walls and in the soil at the top 

 of cliffs, old rabbit or puffin burrows, on a shelf in a sea cave (Ussher), 

 in the cabin of an old fishing smack (Harvie Brown), or the wreck of a 

 boat (Seebohm), on low banks overgrown with grass, under bracken in the 

 Scillies (Frohawk), and in thick beds of sea campion or nettles, and 

 according to Dixon under heaps of dry seaweed. In the Orkneys it has 

 been known to breed among loose stones, on the beach or on the top of 

 the cliffs; while in Wexford Ussher says that it generally nests on the 

 slopes of grassy banks or low cliffs. Dry grasses and bents are the 

 usual materials, generally with more or less horsehair in the lining, 

 but moss and seaweeds are also occasionally used, and Borrer records a nest 



* It should however be mentioned that Pipits, supposed to be of this species, 

 have been observed far inland in Wales during the breeding" season by Davenport 

 (near Bala and on Aran Mt.), Walpole Bond (nest found on the Brecon border), 

 and others, while Harting has met with them in the Mangerton Mts., Co. Kerry 

 at 2756 ft. (see The Field, Mar. 3 to April 20, 1901). The matter however needs 

 further investigation. 



