RAY. 



141 



which is white, and not very large. They are very 

 bold, and sit in great multitudes till one comes close 

 up to them, because they are not wont to be scared 

 or disturbed. The young ones are esteemed a choice 

 dish in Scotland, and sold very dear (Is. 8d. pluck- 

 ed). We eat of them at Dunbar. They are in 

 bigness little inferior to an ordinary goose. The 

 young one is upon the back black, and speckled 

 with little white spots, under the breast and belly 

 grey. The beak is sharp-pointed, the mouth very 

 wide and large, the tongue very small, the eyes 

 great, the foot hath four toes w^ebbed together. It 

 feeds upon mackrel and herring, and the flesh of the 

 young one smells and tastes strong of these fish. 

 The other birds which nestle in the Basse are these .; 

 the scout, which is double ribbed ; the cattiwake, 

 in English cormorant ; the scart, and a bird called 

 the turtle-dove, whole-footed, and the feet red. 

 There are verses which contain the names of these 

 birds among the vulgar, two whereof are, 



« The scout, the scart, the cattiwake, 

 The soland goose sits on the lake, 

 Yearly in the spring.' 



" We saw of the scout's eggs, which are very 

 large and speckled. It is very dangerous to climb 

 the rocks for the young of these fowls, and seldom a 

 year passeth, but one or other of the climbers fall 

 down and lose their lives, as did one not long before 

 our being there. The laird of this island makes a 

 great profit yearly of the soland geese taken ; as I 

 remember, they told us £130 sterling. There is in 

 the isle a small house, which they call a castle ; it 

 is inaccessible, and impregnable, but of no great 

 consideration in a war, there being no harbour, nor 



