260 



ORNITHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 

 AND REFLECTIONS IN SHETLAND.* 



EDMUND SELOUS 



In my last contribution under this heading, I mentioned 

 that twice, when all the Kittiwakes rose, apparently, at the 

 same instant, and flew out over the loch, one Herring Gull 

 stayed behind. I should have added, these words, however, 

 which immediately follow in my diary, viz., " The others 

 have gone and returned with the Kittiwakes." The ^VMi 

 therefore, as will be later much more strikingly apparent in an 

 observation which I have to quote, is not necessarily confined 

 in its action to one and the same species. I did not put down, 

 at the time, how many herring gulls stood, on this occasion, 

 amongst the Kittiwakes. The maximum number, however, 

 up to then, that I had seen thus associated with them, on the 

 land, was seven, or possibly eight. That was on the day 

 before, when the Kittiwakes, also, were more numerous, and 

 had it been greater, in this instance, I should probably have 

 recorded it. 



October 14TH. — It is noticeable that in any smaller 

 segregation of these Kittiwakes from the main body, one or 

 more Herring Gulls are generally to be seen. For instance, 

 two, a young and an old one, are now in company with just 

 a few of them that are bathing in the loch. Having watched the 

 main assemblage for about an hour, I walked to the place 

 and then patrolled the ground on which they had been standing, 

 on the look out for any dead body, but I found none. It 

 was easy to keep the right course, because of the feathers 

 scattered all over it. I also walked to the first-mentioned 

 bathing place, at the head of the loch, but there was no corpse 

 there either. I then started for other parts, and, about a 

 mile on, came to a loch near the sea, on the other side — the 

 east coast — on the shore of which stood a lesser gathering, 

 which I had noticed before, about a week or ten days ago. 

 They went up before I could make use of the glasses, but five 

 birds that were in the loch, when I came, remained there. 

 Four were Kittiwakes, the other a young Herring Gull. On 

 coming up to the place I found that it was apparently a larger 

 assembly-ground than the other, feathers being freely scattered 

 over a long and wide space along the shore of the loch. But 

 here, too, I could find no dead bird. It seems evident, therefore, 

 that it is to a very limited extent that the Herring Gull preys 

 upon the Kittiwake — only perhaps, as I am now inclined to 

 think, during a quite short period, after the latter have first 

 come down from their nests on the ledges — then, too, but 

 sparingly. Neither during this, or any other period, have I 



* Continued from page 92. 



Naturalist, 



