9522 Birds. 



Jandary, 1865. 



Little Auk. — The little auk is by no means common here, and only 

 occurs in winter, after stormy weather. On the 16th of January I 

 obtained a very perfect adult female, and as it avoided two shots by 

 diving I was afforded an opportunity, though a brief one, of observing 

 it closely while living. In its general appearance it reminded me of 

 a small razorbill, but the fore part of the body was not carried so low 

 in the water. The bird allowed the boat to approach within easy 

 shooting distance, and only dived when fired at ; but the act took 

 place so rapidly that the mode in which it was performed could not 

 at the time be detected, although subsequently I had an opportunity 

 of seeing that the wings were partly opened at the instant the plunge 

 was made. Unlike those specimens which T have seen in England, 

 and from the Firth of Forth, it was in excellent condition, and the 

 stomach was full of the remains of small fish. Judging from all 

 accounts of the little auk which I have received from many of the 

 inhabitants of these islands, it appears to occur here most frequently 

 in a living state. 



Water Rail — Several water rails have arrived at intervals during the 

 last fortnight. 1 shot one in order to ascertain the nature of its food, 

 and found in the stomach fibres of plants, small stones, and the man- 

 dibles of some beetles. 



Rock Dove. — Large flocks of rock doves now frequent the open 

 fields, and may also occasionally be seen inspecting the base of a 

 rugged bank by the shore, where the frost has caused the loose earth 

 to fall. It is at this season that their good services become most 

 apparent. In the crop of one which 1 lately opened there were a few 

 grains of barley, a great many seeds of wild ujustaid {Sinapis arvensis), 

 and nearly five table-spoonfids of the seed-pods of the field-radish 

 {Raphanus raphanislriim) . It is very probable that this species 

 breeds much earlier than I supposed when making some notes upon it 

 last year (Zool. 9-237), for on examining a pair shot on the 17th of 

 January I found ova in the female rather larger than hemp-seed, and 

 in the male the testes were much enlarged, being three-quarters of an 

 inch in length. 



Guillemot. — On the 19th of January I shot the only example of the 

 common guillemot which I have seen here since the close of the 

 breeding season. It was a male, in very poor condition. 



Great Northern Diver. — Early in winter the northern diver appears 

 here in considerable numbers, but a large proportion of those which 



