BIRD LIFE AT THE SHETLAND ISLANDS. 123 



before he himself can be seen. With the cries he makes acting 

 as a signal, he is joined by others, and the noisy birds soar, 

 screaming overhead in every direction. The Curlew is the Sentinel 

 of the Sea-shore and mud flats, as the screaming Jay is of the 

 thick impenetrable thicket. The nest is generally lined with 

 grass and a little moss; the number of eggs is three or four. 

 The colour is dull drab, with blotches of dark brown, and the 

 size is large in comparison with the bird. The Shetlanders whose 

 chief food and living is that of, and after, fish and birds regard 

 with horror the idea of using such a bird as the Curlew for food. 



The Isle of Noss is about five miles from Lerwick, and it 

 is noted for its majestic sea-cliffs and the countless numbers of 

 birds which frequent it. The Keeper's House is the only 

 residence on the Island and the highest precipice is 900 feet. 



Looking down we observe that every available ledge is occupied 

 by nests of the Kittiwake and other species. When viewed 

 from the summit of the cliff the scene is indescribably wild, 

 thousands of birds swimming about and equal numbers hovering 

 above the sea below, the whole producing an impression not 

 readily effaced from the memory. This is surely a Bird Lover's 

 Paradise. The little Kittiwake Gull is readily distinguished by 

 its unmistakable note of * Kitty-a-wake ', and in the same 

 manner as the Cuckoo it is constantly uttering its own name, 

 thus rendering a mistake on our part an impossibility. They 

 build their nests much lower down the rocks than the Guillemots 

 and very often in places where nothing but a bird could reach, 

 or keep a foot-hold. The nest consists of dry grass and seaweed, 

 mixed with clay, which no doubt gives weight and adhesion to the 

 rock. They lay three eggs which are subject to much variation. 



It may not generally be known that there are two distinct 

 varieties of the Guillemot found abundantly throughout the 

 Islands, namely, the Common and the Ringed species. The 

 former is met with on the precipitous rocks of all the Islands. 

 They sit high and lightly on the water, and as a boat ap- 

 proaches dive with the rapidity of thought. One pear-shaped 

 egg is laid which varies in an extraordinary manner, indeed 

 no two eggs are said to be alike. Unlike most other Sea birds 

 they sit on their eggs upright, and with the back to the sea, 

 thus hiding the conspicuous white breast. 



