nOTES 



SOME ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM SHETLAND. 

 The following facts about birds in Shetland may be of interest 

 to readers of British Birds. 



The old gardener at Hayfield, Lerwick, states that Black- 

 birds {Tvirdus m. mernla) first nested in Shetland about 

 1891 or 1892, and they have nested in this garden ever since. 

 I believe they are fairly common in many parts of Shetland. 



A Song-Thrush {T. philomelus ? subsp.) nested in the 

 garden of Dr. Munro at Kergord, Weisdale, this year (1919), 

 and hatched out two young ones from the nest of five eggs. 

 Dr. Munro says that a pair were seen last summer (1918) 

 there but he does not think any young were hatched, though 

 he was away at the time. As he is trying hard, and with 

 some success, to raise trees in Shetland, perhaps this may 

 have attracted them. 



In 1 918, late in the season, I saw three young Gannets 

 {Sula hassana) on the cliffs of Noss, and this year took 

 particular notice to see if the birds had built again, as Gannets 

 are not very common in Shetland, and I do not think they 

 usually have built here. This year in the same spot there 

 are five pairs nesting. 



On the Island of Mousa I found an Eider Duck {Somateria 

 m. mollissima) on its nest, built on the top of a rough wall 

 about fi ve feet from the ground. These walls are very irregular 

 and there was a large sharp stone between the two eggs in 

 the nest. The bird had evidently tried to get the two eggs 

 together and failed, as both eggs were much cracked. 



The Fulmar Petrels {Fulmarus g. glacialis) now appear 

 to build on every cliff round the Shetlands, and so many nest 

 here now that some are forced to build in places which can 

 easily be reached by human hands. The Richardson's Skuas 

 (Stercorarius parasiticus) are also very numerous and the 

 Great Skuas (S. s. skua) are now quite common. These 

 latter build to my certain knowledge on Hermaness, Nos?, 

 Fetlar, Hascosay, and Foula. I believe they will be found 

 at two or three other places also, but I have not had an 

 opportunity of verifying this. 



An interesting incident was told me by th.e Rev. Millar, of 

 Clousta, who saw a fierce fight going on over a rocky knoll 

 between a pair of Merlins {Falco c. cesalon) and seven Hooded 

 Crows (Corvus c. comix). A day or two afterwards, he and I 



