Notes on Eysgeir, off Canna, and its Bird Life. 173 



the east side is the best of all for all other purposes, such 

 as egg-collecting or lobster-fishing, as it is usually the best 

 sheltered from wind and wave. To land on the west horn of 

 the crescent is usually a hazardous attempt. Fishermen, if 

 they see a storm approaching, however, make for the south 

 side, and enter the narrow voe leading to the seal's pool, and 

 this they endeavour to do before the storm reaches them. 

 Once within, they lie snugly moored and safe from any 

 wind. 



We landed upon the north side of Hysgeir upon the 16th 

 of June 1881 — I, to stalk the seals with the assistance of our 

 guide M'Isaac, Heddle to examine the geognosy and mineralogy 



of the rocks, and my friend U , who had accompanied me 



also to Haskeir and the Flannens, to scramble generally over 

 the rocks, and search for eggs. My quest for seals resulted in 

 the stampede of about twenty huge grey giants, — after an 

 ineffectual fire of S.S.G. at 60 yards, with a huge eight bore 

 double-barrelled duck-gun, — and in the death of a splendid 

 fellow, and his subsequent loss amongst tall tangle on the 

 south shore. After this seal-episode, I turned to the bird life. 

 As I came back towards the landing-place, I met Dr Heddle, 

 who held in his hands four ducks' eggs. He had flushed the 

 bird from the nest, and lifted the eggs, but could not be sure 

 of the species. We then took the down from the nest. At 

 the time the eggs appeared to me most closely to resemble 

 those of either the long-tailed duck, or the pintail, but their 

 identification had to remain over until the downs could be 

 compared. Amongst the down were one or two small feathers, 

 which I carefully preserved. I had some idea of gadwaUs, 

 but suppressed that in favour of the pintail, and this proved 

 afterwards to be correct, and I was glad afterwards to have 

 the opportunity of finding my friend Mr Eobert Gray — our 

 valued secretary — arrive at precisely similar conclusions by 

 a comparison of the down, whilst at the same time the long- 

 tailed duck's parentage was at once negatived, when a packet 

 of down of that species was opened for the first time since its 

 arrival from Eussia in 1875. This is the principal result of 

 our visit to Hysgeir from an ornithologist's point of view. I 



