408 Mr. H. Seebohra— Notes on 



some distance down the sides were white with the droppings 

 of the birds, and dead and decaying fishes dropped by the 

 Cormorants assisted to make the atmosphere unpleasant. 



Shags (Phalacrocorax gr'aculus) were even more abundant 

 than Cormorants, but they were rarely breeding in colonies, 

 and their nests were seldom exposed to view. They prefer 

 a cave or a ledge under an overhanging rock, and probably 

 no Shag would choose to build its nest in a cave already 

 occupied, if there was an empty one near at hand. They 

 were, however, so numerous on the island, that they had 

 perforce become gregarious, and on some ledges half a dozen 

 nests were to be found. The Shag sits very close, especially 

 if she has young, and requires to be driven off the nest, after- 

 she has tried her best to drive you away by snake-like hisses 

 and contortions of the neck. 



But perhaps the most interesting bird that breeds on the 

 island is the Manx Shearwater (P affirms anglorum) . A hun- 

 dred visits might be paid to the island by daylight without 

 the presence of these mysterious birds being suspected. As 

 we steamed to the island the weather was fine and the sea 

 calm, but as we returned a stiff sou'-wester was blowing, the 

 spray splashed over the hurricane-deck, and every now and 

 then we caught a glimpse of the mysterious bird skimming 

 over the waves. On the island itself we did not see a trace 

 of them, but inasmuch as Mr. Ussher had met with them on 

 the same day of May a year previously, we heroically devoted 

 some hours of the night to the pursuit of Shearwaters. On 

 the first night we walked across the island between 10 and 

 11 without success, probably because the moon was blight 

 and the wind cold. We then turned in for a couple of hours, 

 and tried again from 1 to 2. The moon was behind a bank 

 of clouds near the horizon, and several times we heard the 

 distant crow of the Shearwaters, cuk-cuk-a-oo, cuk-cuk-a-oo, 

 in various tones, now angry, now plaintive, sometimes seem- 

 ing to express delight, and sometimes surprise. Possibly 

 the cold wind prevented them from appearing in greater force. 

 About 2 o'clock the day began to dawn, and soon afterwards 

 the Skylark (Alauda arvcnsis) was in full song, and we heard 



