74 OUR RARER BIRDS 



ground as well as in the rocks ; the Hooded Crow is common, 

 but in severe weather often visits the distant mainland ; the 

 Tree Sparrow also breeds in the holes of the rough walls ; and 

 the Twite, the Meadow Pipit, and the Eock Pipit are fairly 

 common ; but all are more or less migratory. It is most 

 interesting to find such a delicate little bird living on these 

 remote ocean rocks, where not a bush or a tree of any descrip- 

 tion is to be found. With us the Wren loves the well-wooded 

 districts, and is rarely seen far from the cover of hedges and 

 thickets ; but in St. Kilda it has had to modify its habits 

 considerably, and has developed into what we may most aptly 

 describe as a Eock Wren. Long residence amongst the rocks 

 has strengthened its feet, just as the constant use of our own 

 limbs will develop them. St. Kilda and the adjacent islets 

 are all rocks and stones, clothed with luxuriant turf, amongst 

 which primroses and other simple flowers bloom plentifully, 

 and on the cliffs, sorrel, campion, and other plants grow 

 luxuriantly. On the hillsides the natives build numbers of 

 rough hovels or " cleats," made of boulders and roofed with 

 turf, in which fodder and fuel are stored, and the sheep and 

 cows find shelter during rough weather. The St. Kilda Wren 

 loves to run in and out of the rough walls of these hovels, 

 often perching on a projecting stone to warble forth its loud 

 and merry song. This song, to my ears, sounds louder, 

 clearer, and more powerful than that of the Common Wren ; 

 and its call-notes are louder and harsher. It hops about with 

 the same pert and engaging ways, constantly bobbing its 

 head, and carrying its tail erect. It is by no means shy, and 

 I have often watched it feeding its young within a few yards 

 of where I was standing. It also loves to frequent the rocks 

 and big stones on the beach ; and I have often flushed it 

 from the sides of the steep precipices, on which tens of 

 thousands of sea-birds were rearing their young. Its principal 

 food is insects, which it finds in the nooks and crannies into 



