12 NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BELL ROCK. 



our creel, instead of the expectant lobster a huge conger-eel 

 was found in possession, his girth just barely admitting him 

 through the " funnel." A further surprise, however, awaited 

 us ; for, on being cut open, a full-grown lobster was found 

 in his stomach. How the biter in this case escaped being 

 bitten is a mystery, as one would naturally suppose the 

 lobster, with his powerful claws, would be more than his 

 match. This recalls an incident which happened the other 

 day. A pretty little fish, of a kind we had not yet seen, was, 

 after some manoeuvring, placed in a bucket of water along 

 with some other fish, sea weeds, and shells. On examining 

 our catch a little later, our pretty stranger was nowhere 

 visible ; suspicion falling on an ugly-looking little " poach " 

 complacently resting at the bottom of the bucket, Jeddart 

 justice was summarily meted out to the suspected cannibal ; 

 a post-mortem conclusively established his guilt. That these 

 fish are cannibals there is not the slightest doubt. I picked 

 up one about a foot long on a beach in Orkney, which had 

 partly succeeded in swallowing, tail first, a brother half his 

 size, but had been choked in the attempt ; the horns on either 

 side of his victim's head becoming embedded in his gullet, he 

 could neither entertain nor reject him. Amongst the numerous 

 aliases by which the " Poach " is known are the following 

 Bullhead, Hardhead, Cobbler, Shoemaker, Gunflucker, Corn- 

 per, and Johnny Mainland, the latter being his Orcadian 

 name. 



The terns have increased to over a hundred this month ; 

 from daylight to dark their creaking voices are dinning in our 

 ears. Most active little birds, they are almost continually on 

 the wing, wheeling and diving with wonderful celerity. Their 

 prey being surface-swimmers chiefly herring-fry at present 

 necessitate a dive of only a few inches. The young birds, of 

 which there is a goodly sprinkling, though almost as big as the 

 parents, have not yet acquired the forked tail nor the pro- 

 nounced plumage of the older birds. Awanting also in 

 dexterity, they are being frequently fed by their parents. It 

 is amusing to witness the chagrin of a youngster when, as 



