82 ORNITHOLOGICAL KAMBLES. 



formed by the father of the present proprietor, Mr. 

 Watt, of the House of Skael, an unpretending but 

 rather picturesque edifice, situated on a narrow neck 

 of land between this and the sea, and whose hospitality 

 I shortly afterwards had the pleasure of receiving. 

 This little island was densely covered with pairs of the 

 black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus), to my taste the 

 most elegant and beautiful of their tribe ; indeed, so 

 closely were the birds disposed, that it would seem as 

 if the constant rising and settling of some must break 

 the eggs of the others. They were very shy and wary, 

 and the island being far out of gunshot, and there being 

 no boat upon the loch, I was quite unable on this 

 occasion to procure a single specimen. Bishop Stanley, 

 in his remarks on this bird, mentions their breeding on 

 a similar island in a mere about thirty miles from the 

 sea, at Woodrising, in Norfolk. 



On a subsequent occasion, while being entertained 

 at the House of Skael it being impossible to use a 

 boat by reason of the shallowness of the loch, and 

 equally impossible to wade a sufficient distance on 

 account of the softness and depth of the sand, I 

 succeeded in out-manoeuvring and killing a pair in the 

 following manner. Stationing myself upon a low flat 

 of dry sand, at one end of the loch, on which I had 

 observed these birds occasionally feeding, I remained 

 perfectly immovable in a standing position for at least 

 three hours ; and a cutting easterly wind prevailing, I 



