An Ornithological Visit to the Ascrih Islands. 403 



until lately, when my friend, Mr Harvie-Brown, suggested 

 that I should re-write them in a more permanent form, and 

 at the same time allowed me to use his notes.^ 



About four in the morning of June 23, 1883, wc found 

 ourselves becalmed about four miles to the north of the 

 outermost of the Ascrib Islands ; so after breakfast the dinghy 

 was lowered, and I landed, with two of the crew. 



The Ascrib group forms an irregular chain of islets, the 

 general direction being about north-north-west and souths 

 south-east, or, roughly, north and south by the compass. 

 The two ends of the chain curve slightly to the west. The 

 group is situated near the entrance of Loch Snizort, and lies 

 a little nearer to the west side than to the east. 



We pulled for the outermost — Eilean Eashal — and landed, 

 but did not stay very long, as the birds observed were not of 

 special interest to me, as I wished, if possible, to procure 

 the eggs of Procellaria pelagica, which bird, I learned, bred 

 on the Ascribs, and the next island looked more likely 

 breeding ground for it. All round Eilean Eashal, at high- 

 water mark and above it, were immense quantities of boul- 

 ders and slabs of rock, from under which I took a few black 

 guillemots' eggs, of which species there was a large colony. 

 Mr Harvie-Brown paid much more attention to this island 

 than I did, and more especially to the enormous number of 

 black guillemots which breed there. He says : " I counted 

 round the shore of ^o. 1, 141 birds (black guillemots), and 

 very few, if any, of these were counted twice over, as they 

 move very little from one part of the coast to another, but 

 keep to their own breeding grounds. In one bay I counted 

 37. If, say, 141 more birds are supposed to have been 

 sitting on their eggs among the stones, we may safely reckon 

 the colony at 130 pairs on 'No. 1 alone." This island is not 

 high, rather flat, and covered with grass, as are all the 

 others, except the mere skerries. 



Leaving this island, we pulled for the next one in the 

 chain — Eilean Craigeach. This is a larger island than the 

 last, with a rounded grassy hill near the centre, rising to a 

 moderate elevation. It is elongated in shape. Mr Harvie- 



^ He visited the islands in 1884. 



