48 NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BELL ROCK. 



"cleek" in his claws, he prepares for resistance by forcing 

 his back against the roof of his domicile with all the power 

 his crooked legs are capable of. Should he feel himself being 

 drawn he immediately releases his grip, and, if possible, 

 "seeks his benmost bore." Should the cleek find a favour- 

 able hold, such as under the armpit, so to speak, he is soon 

 dislodged, but if the hole be somewhat crooked it is extremely 

 difficult to move him, and even then he may make his appear- 

 ance in sections, as he parts company with the different mem- 

 bers of his body on the slightest provocation, a proceeding 

 about which he has but little compunction, as he knows well 

 others will soon sprout in their places, a convenience which 

 Nature might with advantage have extended to the genus 

 homo. Poachers, it is stated, have made use of these crusta- 

 ceans while " ferretting " rabbits, by sending them into the 

 burrows with a stump of lighted candle stuck on their backs. 

 One can fancy the surprise with which " bunny " would stand 

 aghast at such a fearful apparition. 



Scarcely a bird is to be seen in our vicinity at present, 

 nesting operations calling them elsewhere. A few foraging 

 gannets are seen daily passing and repassing, catering for 

 their sitting mates on the Bass Rock. The terns and gulls 

 will probably have their wants supplied from the shores in 

 the neighbourhood of their nurseries. The nest of the tern 

 is of the simplest description a slight depression on a 

 gravelly beach or grassy mound, or even the bare surface of 

 a rock is considered sufficient for their purpose, nest-building, 

 in their estimation, being evidently considered superfluous. 

 It is surprising that the eggs remain in some of the positions 

 in which they are deposited. I have frequently set them 

 rolling along the rock surface by the action of my breath. 

 On their exit from the egg the young are immediately led 

 by the parents to a shingly beach, or other place of conceal- 

 ment, where it is extremely difficult to detect them from 

 their surroundings. Here they are fed with sand-eels and 

 other small fry till such time as they are able to wing their 

 way to the fishing grounds themselves, though even then they 



