260 Among the Birds in Northern Shires. 



they appear to fall away from the rock face, literally 

 darken the air and overpower us with their numbers. 

 The St. Kildans are expert fowlers, snaring the 

 Fulmars as they sit upon their nests, with long rods 

 to which a horse-hair noose is attached. The birds 

 that breed here are the source of the St. Kildans' 

 wealth; thousands of them are killed and salted for 

 food; thousands of eggs are taken for a similar pur- 

 pose. When caught, the Petrels are made to vomit 

 a quantity of oil into the dried gullet of a Gannet 

 that the fowler carries attached to him; and this oil, 

 together with the feathers from these birds, Gannets 

 and others, are also a further source of income. 



