BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 187 



look down upon the Shags on their nests, and to get 

 a good view at a short distance of the eggs and the 

 young, it is, as a rule, by no means easy to get at 

 them without a rope ; in a few places, however, 

 their nests are more accessible, and a hard climb 

 on the rocks, perhaps with a burning sun making 

 them almost too hot to hold, will bring you within 

 reach of a Shag's nest ; but I would not advise any 

 one who tries it to put on his " go-to-meeting 

 clothes," as the deposit of guano on the rocks will 

 spoil anything ; and only let him smell his hands 

 after his exploit they do smell so nice ! One of 

 the parents generally stands by the young after they 

 are hatched, I suppose to prevent them from wan- 

 dering about and falling off the rocks, as the 

 positions of some of them seem very critical, there 

 being only just room for the family to stand ; the 

 other parent is generally away fishing, only return- 

 ing at intervals to feed his family and dry his 

 feathers before making a fresh start ; sometimes 

 one parent takes a turn to stay by the young, and 

 sometimes the other. The usual number of young 

 appeared to be three, sometimes only one or two ; 

 but in these cases it is probable that a young one 

 or two may have waddled off the rock, or got into a 

 crevice from which the parents could not extricate it, 

 accidents which I should think frequently happen ; 

 or an egg or two may have been blown from the 

 nest, or egg or young fallen a victim to some 



