AMONG THE BIRDS IN SUMMER. 115 



Unlike the Fulmar, this bird is very noisy, 

 especially at night, and when its breeding-places 

 are intruded upon by man. Boat-loads of this 

 curious bird are sometimes captured in a single 

 night. The first eggs of this species are laid 

 about the middle of May, and fresh ones may be 

 obtained up to the middle of June. The Fork- 

 tailed Petrel and the Stormy Petrel also breed m 

 the St. Kilda group, making their nests in disused 

 Puffin burrows. The former bird is only known 

 to breed in one or two other localities in the 

 British islands. The natives of St. Kilda will 

 tell you that this bird is one of the earliest to 

 arrive in spring, and one of the latest to depart 

 in autumn. Numbers of nests are made close 

 together ; I found half-a-dozen within a patch of 

 ground perhaps ten yards square. The nest is 

 merely a little half-dried grass, and the single egg 

 is white and chalky, very fragile, and spotted 

 with reddish-brown in a zone round the larger 

 end. The Stormy Petrel breeds in a very similar 

 manner, and about the same time ; but the single 

 egg is frequently laid under large stones, or even 

 in holes in walls. All these Petrels are nocturnal 

 in their habits, and at dusk may be seen hurrying 

 off from their holes to the sea, where they hold 

 high carnival amongst the ocean waves, searching 

 every crest and every hollow for their food. 



The Terns are amongst the latest sea-birds to 

 breed. The Feme Islands are one of the most 

 important stations where these graceful birds con- 



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