26 THE WESTERN ISLES. 



and a small loch. At this end Dunlins breed abundantly, also a 

 colony of terns and a few Oyster-catchers. It was here too we saw 

 one of the only two Grey Seals observed by us during our residence 

 in Kousay. The island itself is rocky on the east and south sides, 

 though nowhere are the rocks higher than a few feet : the north- 

 west and west sides are shingly, and on the north-west promontory 

 is a very old cod-drying establishment, still used. It is not every 

 shingle that is suitable for this work, for, besides being exposed 

 to the air above, the fish must have some draught below them as 

 well, and for this purpose the coarse shingle is well adapted. The 

 fish Cod, Ling, and Torsk, or Tusk, as it is more generally 

 called are caught a little beyond the Westray Firth, in small 

 smacks of ten, fifteen, or twenty tons. Numbers of Golden Plovers 

 come here in the winter so the keeper informed us and at times 

 a fair number of Snipe. The channels round Viera are mostly 

 very shallow, except between it and the island of Egilsay. 



EYNHALLOW. 



Eynhallow is the property of E. S. Cameron, Esq., and lies 

 between Rousay and the Mainland in the sound to which it gives 

 its name. The tides here run with great speed on either side of the 

 island, and, even in calm weather, can only be crossed, except in 

 certain places, at high and low water. When in full force, boats 

 can only cross above or below, and in going outside the islands 

 care must be taken to keep on one side or other of the stream. 

 The island is mostly rocky; on the north-west side, facing the 

 Atlantic, the cliffs rise to about 200 feet in height, and these are 

 inhabited by a few Shags, Rock Pigeons, and a pair of Kestrels. 

 These rocks slope down on the west and east sides until at the 

 south end they are level with the water, ending in a long reef of 

 rock covered at high tide. Along the lower sides are heaps of 

 shingle, and above the shingle some larger slabs of stone, under 

 which the Black Guillemots and Starlings build, and in two places 

 the former birds breed in quite small colonies. The island, like 

 so many of the smaller holms, is covered with a coarse grass, to 



