146 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



birds burrow into the soft earth on the cliffs, or lay 

 their solitary egg in deep fissures of the rocks. 

 Many Puffins may be seen visiting or leaving their 

 nest-holes in the walls of the fortress, but otherwise 

 the bird is not much in evidence, except on the sur- 

 rounding sea. The Kittiwake is also a tenant of 

 the cliffs, breeding in most abundance far down 

 towards the sea, where the rocks fall sheer like walls 

 of solid masonry. Odd nests may be discovered 

 here and there in more accessible spots, but never 

 near the top of the cliffs where the Gannets breed 

 in such vast abundance. The noisy clamour of 

 this beautiful little Gull is to my mind one of the 

 most charming, as it certainly is one of the most 

 characteristic, features of the wave-washed cliffs. 

 A few pairs of Herring Galls also breed on the. 

 sloping, undulating downs on the north side of the 

 Bass. These nests are remarkably difficult to find, 

 unless stumbled upon by accident. The birds too 

 are excessively wary, and if the nests are not marked 

 correctly when their owners are first flushed, nothing 

 remains but a close and systematic search. I used 

 often to try and surprise these birds on their nests 

 by creeping stealthily over the brow of the hill, but 

 every time in vain. The wary birds had invariably 

 left their eggs, and were either on the wing or 



