THE ANGLE KS SOUVENIR. 



213 



the paper, extracting a large circular piece of turf ; 

 but, in spite of all our precautions, the earth, 

 owing to a long-continued drought, was too friable 

 to be kept from partially falling in. Carefully 

 brushing this away and removing the paper, we 

 discovered the nest, for such with its raised sides 

 it might fairly be called, occupying a round 

 chamber at the upper end of the passage, which 

 sloped gradually upwards from the point of en- 

 trance. From the mouth of the hole to the circular 

 bed was about two feet, and the chamber con- 

 taining the nest itself was about six or eight inches 

 in diameter, and completely filled with the remains 

 of fish, in every stage of decomposition. The eggs, 

 seven in number, exhibiting the usual pinky hue 

 of the yolk showing through their glossy shells, 

 were laid exactly in the centre, and reposed on a 

 strata of fragmentary fish-bones, pure white, and 

 by no means offensive : but a slightly raised wall 

 of similar substances, of a dirty-yellow tint, crumb- 

 ling to the touch, and alive with maggots, was far 

 from pleasant ; and I doubt not consisted of the 

 recent deposits of the old bird or birds whilst 

 sitting, the bleached-looking bones beneath the 

 eggs being evidently of older date, and dried, no 

 doubt, by the warmth of their bodies. On in- 

 serting a spade beneath the entire mass, in order 

 to carry away as much as possible, we found 

 apparent evidence of this hole having been tenanted 

 for more than one season, since below the white 



