to the Blaskei Islands, S^c. 7 



we visited. They lay their eggs on the rocks just above high- 

 water mark, and the nests are merely a few blades of grass 

 loosely placed together. We took one very handsome clutch 

 of their eggs ; the ground-colour, instead of being the usual 

 pale brownish buff, was a pale greenish blue. 



Ardea cinerea. 



I found a solitary Heron's nest, containing three eggs, on 

 Inishtoorskert, the most northerly of the Blaskets, an unin- 

 habited island very seldom visited. This seemed to be the 

 only pair breeding on the island. The nest was placed in a 

 cleft of a cliff, not a very great distance from its summit, and 

 consisted of sticks, built in the usual way by that bird, and 

 was lined with grass. 



LOMVIA TROILE. 



We got some very handsome varieties of the eggs of the 

 Guillemot on Inishnabro, where this bird breeds in great 

 numbers. They are also very common on the rest of the 

 Blaskets. The Ringed Guillemot seems to be specially 

 common on the Little Skellig Rock. 



Fratercula arctica. 



We found many colonies of Puffins breeding in the turf at 

 the top of the cliffs. On Inishvickillane we got some very 

 nicely marked eggs, with a zone of spots round the large 

 end, and took others on Inishtoorskert, Inishtearaght, &c. 

 On the Little Skellig they breed in such incredible num- 

 bers that their eggs are often found on the bare rock. 



Alca torda. 



We got plenty of eggs of the Razorbill on Inishnabro, 

 Inishtoorskert, Inishtearaght, and on the Skelligs, but there 

 were very few handsome eggs amongst them in proportion 

 to the quantity. 



Phalacrocorax carbo. 



Cormorants were abundant on all the islands. I got sl. 

 clutch of four eggs on Inishnabro, and there was a large 

 colony on Inishtoorskert. 



