264 THE BIRDS OF IONA AND MULL. 



A tame solan I kept was the means of driving away a London 

 friend by pecking his legs on the stairs, and by his villainous odour. 

 Declining to destroy my ill-flavoured pet, he went off in a huff. 



Armstrong gives guga as the Irish name. 



THE MANX SHEARWATER. 



Though not very numerous, is often seen skimming over the ocean, 

 rising and falling along the waves. They are found breeding in holes 

 of the rock, laying a single white egg, blunt at both ends, and lustre- 

 less, like the puffin's and petrel's. 1 On some rare occasions I have met 

 them covering the sea in considerable numbers about the approach of 

 the breeding season, and they were then very tame, allowing the boat 

 to approach them quite close. Usually, however, they are seldom at 

 rest ; they come skimming up to the boat as if led by curiosity, and 

 then glide swiftly away again. 



THE STORMY PETREL. 

 Gaelic, Luchd fairge (pronounced luke farragy), or sea mouse. 



In my former letters I have described my experiences of this most 

 interesting little bird in pp. 78 and 213 of The Naturalist. I will only 

 repeat that they breed in the islands in Staffa, under the large loose 

 stones on the beach ; in the islet of Soay, in burrows formed in the soft 

 soil and devote a great portion of the year to the rearing of their 

 single fledgling. As they come to their holes in the beginning of June 

 and in the middle of October, many of the young seem but recently 

 hatched, and but little advanced towards being fledged. 



Armstrong makes the following mention of them : " Shaw observes 

 of these sea-fowls that they go into holes like mice, and that when they 

 are taken a quantity of yellow oil falls from their bill. It has been 

 remarked of them that they hatch their young by sitting on the 

 ground about six inches from their eggs, and, turning their heads 

 toward them, make a cooing noise called gur-le-giig * hatch with a 



1 Our experience is rather opposed to our author's in regard to the lustreless 

 character of the Manx shearwater's egg. It is blunt at each end, but is much 

 glossier, whiter, and thinner-shelled than a puffin's. ED. 



