THE MANX SHEARWATER. 4<13 



Sir William Jardine observes — the Calf of Man " becoming 

 more frequented, and a light-house being erected, the birds dis- 

 appeared entirely, and on a visit which we made to this interest- 

 ing island, we were much disappointed in scarcely being able to 

 trace even the recollection of their former abundance/'"^ Although 

 the species which derives its name from the island has deserted it, 

 there is still great abundance of other sea-fowl there in the breed- 

 ing season, as I had an opportunity of witnessing on the 21st of 

 May, 1826, when proceeding from Belfast to Liverpool in the 

 Chieftain steam-ship. It was so beautifully calm and serene, that 

 we sailed between the Isle of Man and the Calf, keeping but a few 

 yards from the latter, which contains two handsome Hghthouses, 

 both built on the same plan, with an excellent dwelling-house in 

 modern taste attached to each. Between the Calf and a rock at 

 some distance from the shore, the run of the tides was very strong, 

 but the sea, nevertheless, did not lose its smoothness, and it was 

 most interesting to observe fishes leaping in every direction, and 

 sea-fowl of various species (chiefly common guillemots and razor- 

 bills), diving and sporting around. The Calf of Man is girt by 

 cliffs, in some places lofty and perpendicular, but the most pictu- 

 resque rocks are those that stand apart, one of which has an 

 arch opening entirely through it. 



At the Scilly Islands the Manx shearwater continues to breed ; 

 a full and^excelleut^account of it, as observed at the barren island 

 of Annet, one of the group, was contributed by Mr. D. W. Mit- 

 chell to Yarrell's ' British Birds.' The species is said also to 

 breed on some of the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Isles. 

 This shearwater is but an accidental visitant to the North Ame- 

 rican coast (Bonaparte). 



Authors have often described flocks of birds which keep 

 flying all day over the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, and are never 

 seen to alight either for rest or food; but only of late was 

 their sjiecies positively' determined. As remarked in Walsh's 



* ' Brit. Birds,' vol. iv. p. 255. 



