452 MR. J. H. GURNEY, JUN., ON THE ISLES OF SCILLY. 



were burrows made by the Shearwaters I have no doubt. I think 

 the egg is generally at the end of the burrow, and certainly the 

 ceiling of the chamber in which it is deposited is sometimes not 

 more than six inches from the surface. When taken out, the 

 Shearwater makes no attempt to escape. 



It is most likely, from Mr. Bidwell's observations, that they 

 rake the hole out with the beak (I.e. p. 213) ; but I was so careful 

 about not further disturbing them after the recent robbery, that 

 my observations on their nesting arrangements were incomplete. 

 At the southern end of Annet the rocks are overlaid with a thick 

 bed of soil, partly peat, partly sand, which their hooked beaks, 

 aided probably by their feet, easily make an impression upon. 

 Debes says they use both ('Fseroa Reserata,' p. 145), and his 

 account, which Mr. Bidwell quotes, though printed more than 

 two hundred years ago, is very faithful. This situation is quite 

 unlike the place where they nidificate at Eigg, on the coast of 

 Scotland, where Mr. Macpherson says they nest on cliffs from 

 one to seven hundred feet in height (I.e. p. 216).* 



Mr. Mitchell alludes to the Shearwaters' habit of occasion- 

 ally congregating (Yarrell, ' British Birds, ' vol. iii. p. 570). 

 In August, 1885, Captain White, of St. Mary's, saw a flock, 

 mostly birds of the year, reaching two miles on the water, and 

 comprising, he believes, many thousands. They appeared to be 

 very tired or all asleep, and were so tame, when he ran his boat 

 among them, as to allow themselves to be touched with a boathook. 

 It is not likely that so many had been bred on Annet : they had 

 probably just arrived from further north, perhaps from Scomer 

 Island in Wales. The colony at Annet, at a rough guess, may 

 number two hundred pairs, which would not have been near 

 sufficient to provide such a congregation ; moreover, their tendency 

 would be to move south as autumn approached. 



I have devoted so much space to the Shearwater that I must 

 pass briefly over the other species. The Shag (Phalacrocorax 

 graeulus) is very common, and on Great Inisvouls we found 

 about twelve nests with eggs, and one with young birds, which, 

 on May 12th, was early. One youngster was blind, and the 

 other two just able to see. Only two of the nests had three 



* I have been favoured with a sketch of the exact place by Mr. Arthur 

 Macpherson, which in every way agrees with his cousin's description. 



