182 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



fable, as far as the Fame Island birds were con- 

 cerned. Just before leaving their nest they squirt 

 an evil-smelling liquid over the- eggs, no doubt to 

 prevent enemies from touching them. Lesser black- 

 backed gulls, however, will take the eggs, whether 

 covered with this liquid or not. It would, indeed, 

 have to be a very terrible smell to keep one of these 

 persistent robbers away. Numbers of arctic terns 

 are now settling on their eggs just above high-water 

 mark, and in places they form white rows. Ringed 

 plovers are feeding near the water, running in and 

 out among the larger pebbles. As we row away, the 

 cries of the birds become fainter, and when again 

 we land on Fame Island only the terns, sweeping 

 gracefully over the two islands like white swallows, 

 can be distinguished, while the islands the higher 

 covered with flowers, and the lower with seaweed 

 remain pictured in our memory as the finest home 

 of the terns we have seen in the British Isles. 



A sail of a little over half an hour brings us to 

 the more distant islands. The shores of these are 

 in places rugged and rocky, and as we proceed we 

 have pointed out to us the spot were the Forfarshire 

 ran aground. 



We land on the island adjoining the well-known 

 Pinnacles, and the first birds seen after scrambling 

 up the sides are lesser black-backed gulls. These are 

 here in hundreds, and the farther we go on to the 



