174 MEDITERRANEAN NOTES 



and anchored in a snug bay in about ten fathoms, and 

 had a quiet night. Vacca is covered with ice plant on 

 the steep parts, and at the top are flat places overgrown 

 with coarse grass and other plants. On the south side the 

 rock overhangs the sea ; the west side is quite precipitous, 

 and weather-worn to an appalling extent." 



"May 2$th. On the Isola Rossa, which is very- 

 rough, rocky, and overgrown with various bushes and 

 grasses, we found a vast number of shags (Carbo 

 desmans^}, some young of which were still in the nests, 

 on the east side of the island, which is steep and craggy, 

 as is the north end. It slopes down to the south and 

 west and there are many places where a landing can be 



effected. M reports a spring of fresh water. Besides 



the shags we saw peregrine falcon, kestrel, rock dove, 

 Alpine and common swifts, rock martin (Cotile rupestris}. 

 blue thrush, and herring gull. The swifts are in vast 

 numbers, and there are a good many rock doves. We 

 shot 3 adult and I young shag, I peregrine falcon, i 

 kestrel, 6 rock doves, 3 Alpine swifts, and I rock 

 martin, of which I only saw a pair with their nest under 

 a shelf of rock, not very high but quite inaccessible. 

 Jem Poland, who went ashore, reported many lizards 

 and several empty gulls' nests. He brought away one 

 egg of herring gull, which was too hard-sat to blow, 



M found and broke an egg which I suppose to 



have been a shag's. 



