4 THE NORTH ISLES. 



some steep rocks, which are tenanted by Shags, Cormorants, Herring 

 Gulls, a pair or two of Great Black-backed Gulls, and a like number 

 of Hooded Crows, which latter do an immense amount of damage to 

 the Shags' and Cormorants' eggs, the grass above the ledges being 

 covered with the shells. Two or three pairs of Golden Plovers, some 

 Eider Ducks, and a few Meadow Pipits breed among the heather. 



Low in his Tour l mentions Stronsay as being " more unequal and 

 moorish (than Shapinsay), full of moss and peat, except along the 

 shore, where the ground is cultivated." In this respect it differed 

 from Sanday and North Konaldsay, which are so destitute of native 

 fuel that those who could afford brought their peats from Eday, 

 while the poorer class burnt cow-dung and dried tangle. 



Off Stronsay, to the north-west, lies Linga Holm. This island is 

 all grass, the best parts being those at the north and south-west ends. 

 The centre is rather swampy, and round this the grass grows in 

 large tussocks, which afford excellent nesting and hiding-places for 

 the different birds that breed there ; indeed Linga Holm was one of 

 the best places we have visited either for numbers or variety of birds. 

 The beach is mostly shingle, but immediately below that the rocks 

 appear, especially at the south end, where they form a convenient 

 resting-place for the Common Seal, which is here found in some 

 numbers. The rocks and shoal water here extend out for a long 

 way towards Stronsay, and it is necessary to give this part a wide 

 berth when sailing up to Linga Sound. At one time the island 

 was inhabited, but there are no inhabitants there now, and it is 

 used entirely as a sheep farm. We found all the usual birds here 

 in abundance, especially Eider Ducks and Sheldrakes, and in a 

 small pool close to the sea, a Coot, one Wild Duck, and three Teal 

 this latter is a rare bird during the breeding season in the Orkneys. 

 There was also a flock of about twenty Curlews, which, however, 

 would be non-breeding birds, or possibly migrants at that date 

 (July 3d). Many of the birds were still on their eggs ; and the 

 crew of the yacht brought in a quantity of the different kinds, most 

 of which proved to be very near hatching, to their great disappoint- 



1 A Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Shetland in 1774. George Low. 

 Kirk wall, 1879. 8vo. 



