﻿Nesting 
  of 
  some 
  Shetland 
  Birds. 
  353 
  

  

  lighter 
  in 
  coloration 
  than 
  the 
  generality 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  

   Carrion 
  Crow 
  of 
  the 
  south. 
  

  

  Sky-Lark 
  [Alanda 
  amensis) 
  . 
  Very 
  abundant 
  everywhere, 
  

   and 
  very 
  welcome 
  in 
  a 
  land 
  where 
  song-birds 
  are 
  few 
  and 
  

   far 
  between. 
  

  

  Snowy 
  Owl 
  [Surnia 
  nyctea) 
  . 
  A 
  specimen 
  m 
  as 
  shot 
  in 
  Unst 
  

   a 
  few 
  weeks 
  before 
  our 
  arrival 
  there. 
  

  

  ~ 
  White-tailed 
  Eagle 
  [Haliaetus 
  albicilla). 
  This 
  Eagle 
  is 
  

   said 
  to 
  breed 
  still, 
  amongst 
  other 
  places, 
  at 
  Fitful 
  Head 
  ; 
  

   but 
  an 
  intelligent 
  fisherman 
  there, 
  who 
  appeared 
  to 
  know 
  

   something 
  of 
  the 
  local 
  birds, 
  informed 
  us 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  not 
  

   seen 
  anything 
  of 
  the 
  Eagles 
  for 
  some 
  years, 
  and 
  did 
  not 
  

   believe 
  they 
  nested 
  there 
  now. 
  

  

  -/- 
  Merlin 
  (Falco 
  (Esalon). 
  We 
  saw 
  Merlins 
  several 
  times, 
  

   and 
  once 
  found 
  the 
  nest 
  with 
  two 
  eggs 
  ; 
  these 
  were 
  placed 
  

   on 
  a 
  bare 
  spot 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  heath-clad 
  bank. 
  The 
  old 
  

   birds, 
  as 
  is 
  their 
  wont 
  under 
  such 
  circumstances, 
  were 
  very 
  

   vociferous. 
  The 
  INIerlin 
  here, 
  as 
  elsewhere 
  on 
  the 
  sea-coast, 
  

   appears 
  to 
  feed 
  much 
  on 
  the 
  Rock-Pipits. 
  

  

  ■f- 
  Cormorant 
  (Phalacrocorax 
  carbo). 
  The 
  '^ 
  Big 
  Scarf" 
  is 
  

   not 
  nearly 
  so 
  abundant 
  as 
  its 
  smaller 
  relative 
  the 
  Shag. 
  

   It 
  nests 
  earlier 
  than 
  the 
  Shag. 
  

  

  Shag 
  {Phalacrocorax 
  graculus) 
  . 
  " 
  Scarf." 
  Very 
  abundant 
  

   and 
  generally 
  distributed 
  as 
  a 
  breeding 
  species. 
  I 
  shall 
  

   never 
  forget 
  a 
  visit 
  I 
  paid 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  breeding 
  colony 
  down 
  

   the 
  cliffs 
  of 
  Noss 
  on 
  the 
  28th 
  of 
  May. 
  The 
  jilace 
  where 
  

   I 
  managed 
  to 
  eft'ect 
  a 
  landing 
  amongst 
  them 
  was 
  where 
  

   there 
  had 
  been 
  a 
  large 
  landslip 
  some 
  years 
  previously, 
  and 
  

   the 
  broken 
  cliffs 
  abounded 
  Avith 
  caverns, 
  and 
  huge 
  boulders 
  

   were 
  piled 
  one 
  upon 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  another. 
  Inside 
  these 
  

   caverns, 
  and 
  under 
  these 
  boulders, 
  the 
  Shags 
  had 
  placed 
  

   their 
  untidy 
  nests. 
  As 
  I 
  approached 
  them 
  they 
  generally 
  

   retreated 
  to 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  their 
  cave, 
  and 
  there 
  set 
  up 
  such 
  a 
  

   hideous 
  noise 
  as 
  must 
  be 
  heard 
  to 
  be 
  duly 
  appreciated, 
  all 
  the 
  

   while 
  opening 
  their 
  mouths 
  wide 
  and 
  exposing 
  the 
  peculiar 
  

   yellow 
  throat, 
  or 
  snapping 
  their 
  beaks. 
  Occasionally 
  they 
  

  

  SER. 
  VI. 
  VOL. 
  V. 
  2 
  c 
  

  

  