NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OP THE BELL ROCK. 19 



or so, each preserving a regular distance from his neighbour. 

 Though I have frequently watched them pursuing their 

 vocation, I have never seen them bring their prey to the 

 surface, nor could I say whether their dive was successful 

 or not ; but occasionally they emerge from their dive with a 

 satisfied " honk," which may be translated " got 'im." Gifted 

 with an insatiable appetite, they sometimes gorge themselves 

 to such an extent as to be incapable of rising from the water, 

 when they may be easily captured, as they make no attempt 

 to dive. An instance of this was witnessed by a large crowd 

 one Sunday, a few summers ago, in Arbroath Harbour. 

 Some conception of the carrying capacity of these birds may 

 be had when it is known that a sitting mother bird has been 

 seen to insert her bill into the inviting mouth of her returned 

 partner and deftly extract, one by one, as many as six full- 

 grown herring. 



A " false alarm " was occasioned at the end of last month 

 by two cormorants or scarts appropriating the signal poles as 

 a roosting-place. One of these poles is fixed on either side of 

 the balcony, and projects horizontally. When a signal is 

 made from the Rock, two-feet discs are suspended from them 

 in pre-arranged positions. A wire stay from the balcony 

 railing supports the extremity of each pole, and on this stay 

 the birds were seated, one at the outer end, the other in the 

 middle. Discs in this position, but pendant from the pole, by 

 our code reads " Send boat," and this the keeper on shore duty 

 in Arbroath construed it to be and acted accordingly, with the 

 result that we were somewhat alarmed by the appearance of 

 the harbour tug about eleven the same evening. Our impres- 

 sion was that something serious had happened on shore, and 

 that one of our number was urgently wanted. On the tug 

 hailing us, and saying they had been sent out in response to 

 signals shown from the Rock that afternoon, our minds 

 reverted to the birds, and our fears set at rest. Considerable 

 alarm prevailed amongst our families, and not until the tug 

 returned with the news that " All was well on the Rock " were 

 their fears allayed. 



