Birds. 7753 



many specimens. The largest and' handsomest egg procured is one 

 of the green variety, and marked over the whole surface with lines 

 that present very much the appearance of Chinese characters ; it 

 resembles, however, specimens of the eggs of Uria troile, and I see 

 no character by which it could be distinguished from them. 



Naumann gives as one of the distinguishing features of the eggs of 

 this bird a peculiarly fine spotting or dotting, which gives the whole 

 egg, at a short distance, the appearance of being uniformly dark- 

 coloured. T saw no eggs at Ganuet Rock that presented this pecu- 

 liarity, but in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution there are 

 eggs from California of another species, which are so marked. The 

 species to which these eggs belong is as yet doubtful. Among the 

 thousands of eggs of U. troile seen by me at Labrador not one pre- 

 sented this peculiarity. 



Uria lomvia. Every available spot on the sides of Gannet Rock, 

 not already occupied by the gannets or kittiwakes, had been taken 

 possession of by the three last-mentioned species of guillemots and 

 the razorbilled auks ; their comparative numbers were about three of 

 U. troile to two of U. lomvia and one of U. ringvia, and about one auk 

 to fifty guillemots. I noticed nothing in the habits of these birds not 

 already well known. 



According to Naumann, the eggs of U. lomvia resemble a turkey's 

 in form : though their shape is generally more ovate, I have not been 

 able to find any character by which they can certainly be dis- 

 tinguished. I have eggs, particularly of U. ringvia, that present 

 this peculiarity as strikingly as any of the present species. 



Occurrence of uncommon Birds at Bulla Soimd during the 'present year. — To those 

 who take an interest in the migvation of birds the annexed list may probably be 

 worthy of atienlion : — 



Blackbird {Turdus meruta). August 26 : a female seen upon the shore at Balta 

 Sound, after a steady N.W. breeze. Last winter I observed several of both sexes 

 among the rocks upon Balta Island, and at the point of Swinee-Ness, in this island 

 (Unst), where they remained until spring, apparently but litlle inconvenienced by the 

 severity of the season. About the end of March they suddenly disappeared, the wind 

 at that time blowing steadily from the S.W. 



Ilwg Ouzel (^T. turquatus). I saw one upon stony ground below the Muckle 

 Heog, May 14 ; wind S.E. 



Robin Redbreast (Sylvia rubecula). Two arrived, March 20 ; heavy southerly gale. 



Blackcap (.S*. alricapilla). Male seen in an elder at Helligarth, August 12. The 

 wind had been blowing from the N.W. during the four previous days. 



VOL. XIX. 3 N 



