480 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



at low tide. I once looked down from a considerable height upon 

 a quiet congregation of this kind resting themselves in the middle 

 of the day at a part of the cliffs which is but seldom visited. 

 There were several hundreds altogether, and after watching them 

 for some time I broke off a few bits of rock and threw them down 

 into the centre of the flock. They, however, paid no attention 

 to the warning missiles until I increased their volume by hurling 

 down two small boulders, which made a grand leap from a pro- 

 jecting rock and dashed with a tremendous plunge into the sea 

 close to a stone on which about fifty birds were sitting. They 

 then all rose at once, and after pursuing a soft flight for about one 

 hundred yards, alighted on the water. 



In some of the older works on the Natural History of Scotland, 

 I find the Kittiwake spoken of as a favourite article of food. Sir 

 Robert Sibbald, in noticing its edible qualities, states that the 

 "Kittiweak is as good meat as a partridge;" but as this opinion has 

 now been before the world rather more than 150 years without 

 prejudice to the species, it may reasonably be inferred that Sir 

 Robert was not a gourmand. Yet even in later times its value in 

 this respect has been acknowledged by the writers of the statistical 

 accounts of the coast parishes, from which it would appear that 

 it was largely made use of as an article of food about the close of 

 last century, especially, among fishermen and others living in the 

 neighbourhood of its summer haunts. When visiting the Bullers 

 of Buchan, in Aberdeenshire, in 1771, Pennant evidently refer- 

 ring to Dunbuy took notice of a great insulated rock covered with 

 multitudes of Kittiwakes a sight which induced him to make 

 some inquiries about the bird. " The young are a favourite dish," 

 he writes, "in North Britain, being served up a little before 

 dinner as a whet for the appetite ; but from the rank smell and 

 taste, seemed as if they were more likely to have the contrary 

 effect. I was told of an honest gentleman who was set down for 

 the first time to this kind of whet, as he supposed; and after 

 demolishing half-a-dozen with much impatience, declared that he 

 had eaten sax and did not find himself a bit more hungry than 

 before he began!" 



