378 HABITS OF BIRDS. 



air, to place their whole dependance on the uncertain 

 footing of the individual who holds the suspension 

 rope at the top of the precipice. Thus precariously 

 supported, the fowler stations himself upon the most 

 dangerous ledges, and having ransacked all the nests 

 within his reach, he moves off by means of a pole to 

 some new station. 



The fable of the geese growing on these sea-rocks 

 by their bills may also be partly illustrated by the ac- 

 count given of one of their breeding-places by Har- 

 vey, the celebrated discoverer of the circulation of the 

 blood. "There is," says he, "a small island which 

 the Scotch call the Bass, not above a mile in circuit, 

 the surface of which, in the months of May and June, 

 is so strewed with nests, eggs, and young birds, that 

 it is difficult for a person to set down his foot without 

 treading on them ; while so vast is the multitude of 

 those which fly overhead, that, like clouds, they 

 darken the sun and the sky, and such is their clan- 

 gorous noise, that you can scarcely hear the voice of 

 your companions. If from the summit of the lofty 

 precipice you look towards the sea which spreads 

 below, you will perceive, wherever you turn your 

 eyes, birds in countless multitudes, and of various 

 kinds, swimming and hunting for their prey. If, 

 sailing round, you survey the impending clitf, you 

 will see, in every crag and fissure of the indented 

 rock, birds of all sorts and sizes, which would out- 

 number the stars that appear in a clear night. If, 

 from a distance, you behold the flocks roving about 

 the island, you would imagine them to be a vast 

 swarm of bees V 



It would appear that certain vague reports re- 

 specting flying-fish led to similar fables, as we learn 

 from Redi, who, in writing to Kircher, says, " I 

 might well be accused of credulity should I believe 

 * Exercit. de Generatione Animal, ii. 



