60 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiv. 



showed no sign of fear, simply biting my finger. Although 

 the darkness rendered the operation somewhat difficult, I 

 ringed three of these bolder spirits. A somewhat interesting 

 point arises out of this ringing, for at least one of the ringed 

 birds returned to my shoulder after some considerable lapse 

 of time, which tends to show that these nocturnal movements 

 have some other significance than a mere departure or return 

 to the breeding -ground. 



By 3 a.m. they had ceased to fly about, but one or two 

 could still be seen on the ground, and by 3.30 a.m. even these 

 had disappeared. 



In view of the theory that has been put forward to explain 

 the nocturnal movements of the Shearwater, I must state 

 that the activities of the birds seemed to be controlled by 

 the light. The numbers of the birds decreased as the light 

 increased. 



It is perhaps worth mentioning that no Gulls were about 

 when the Shearwaters came out, and they did not appear 

 again until about 3 a.m. 



The fact of the birds striking me is puzzling. At first 

 I thought this might be caused by the light from the Bishop 

 Rock Lighthouse, but my later experiences caused me to 

 abandon this idea. 



