26 NATURAL HISTORY. 



of the head and neck, in those that are old, is of a 

 yellowish dun colour ; they lay but one egg apiece, which 

 is white and not very large. They are very bold, and 

 sit in great multitudes till one comes close up to them, 

 because they are not wont to be scared or disturbed. 

 The young ones are esteemed a choice dish in Scotland, 

 and sold very dear (is. 8d. plucked). We eat of them at 

 Dunbar. They are in bigness little inferior to an ordinary 

 goose. The young one is upon the back black, and 

 speckled with little white spots; under the breast and 

 the belly gray. The beak is sharp-pointed, the mouth 

 very wide and large, the tongue very small, the eyes 

 great, the foot hath four toes webbed together. It feeds 

 upon mackerel and herring, and the flesh of the young 

 one smells and tastes strong of these fish. The other 

 birds which nestle in the Basse are these : the scout, 

 which is double-ribbed; the cattiwake, the cormorant, 

 the scart, and a bird called the turtle-dove, whole 

 footed, and the feet red.* There are verses which 

 contain the names of these birds among the vulgar, two 

 whereof are : 



The scout, the scart, and the cattiwake, 

 The soland goose sits on the lack, 

 Yearly in the spring. 



'We saw [some] of the scout's eggs, which are very 

 large and speckled. It is very dangerous to climb the 

 rocks for the young of these fowls, and seldom a year 

 passeth but one or other of the climbers fall down, 

 and lose their lives, as did one not long before our 



* The 'scout ' is the razor-bill ; the ' cattiwake ' is the kittiwake gull ; the ' scart ' 

 is the shag ; and the ' turtle-dove ' is the black guillemot. 



