288 OUR RARER BIRDS 



Manx Shearwater. The natives of St. Kilda say that this 

 bird is one of the first to arrive in spring and one of the last 

 to leave in autumn ; although I strongly suspect it never quits 

 the islands absolutely, but always returns there to sleep the 

 year throughout. In all its habits the Manx Shearwater is 

 nocturnal, and at the approach of darkness it becomes very 

 garrulous, as if engaged in noisy converse previous to setting 

 out on its nightly wanderings. Its note puts you in mind of 

 the Eing Dove's mellow call, and is aptly expressed by the 

 syllables kitty-coo-roo, kitty-coo-roo. This note is uttered when 

 the bird is sitting in its burrow, or when standing at the 

 entrance, and when flying up and down the island, but never, 

 so far as I can determine, when over the water. The Shear- 

 waters betray their whereabouts by loud persistent cries, 

 which, by the way, are only uttered at night, and that is the 

 time the St. Kildans go in quest of this singular bird. On 

 some quiet night in summer, when the restless sea is a little 

 calmer than usual, the natives get on shore and harry the 

 Shearwater's colony. Amongst the babel of cries the men 

 proceed to work, knocking down many birds as they fly to 

 and fro in the gloom, and dragging many more from their 

 burrows. I have known several men take as many as four 

 hundred of these birds in a single night, besides as many eggs 

 as the boat could safely carry without being swamped in the 

 rough treacherous seas that beat round this perilous coast. 



The Manx Shearwater is a rather late breeder, and its eggs 

 are seldom laid before the end of May. I have taken fresh 

 eggs of this bird in the middle of June, as well as eggs highly 

 incubated. I shall never forget my visit to the breeding-place 

 of this bird at St. Kilda. I have taken many scattered nests 

 of this Shearwater up and down the various western coasts, 

 but never before had I seen it so common as here. We 

 climbed the hills behind the little village, skirted the beautiful 

 glen beyond them, and at last found ourselves on the summit 



