REPORT OF THE MEETINGS FOR 1899 39 



which rents the islands for the purpose, the number of 

 birds breeding on the islands has certainly not diminished 

 during recent years ; while several species, which had begun 

 to grow scarce as breeding species, have now considerably 

 increased. 



The commoner Terns {Sterna cantiaca, S. Jluviatilis, and 

 *S'. macrura) are probably about as numerous as ever, though 

 they seem to be rather erratic breeders, and in some seasons 

 have been reported to have almost entirely deserted their 

 eggs when upon the point of hatching! A considerable 

 destruction of their eggs is also sometimes caused by an 

 unusually high tide covering parts of the beach on which 

 they are laid, and on such an occasion the eggs may be 

 found washed up in numbers amongst the " wrack " or 

 sea-weed at high water mark. I have not for the last few 

 years been able personally to identify any Roseate Terns 

 (aS'. dongalli) nesting, but Mr Paynter informs me that a 

 pair or two are generally still to be found. In the autumn 

 I have observed small flocks of them fishing in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the islands, but these are perhaps birds which 

 have nested elsewhere, and are only passing on migration. 



Of the Gulls, the Lesser Black-backed {Larus fuscus), 

 the Herring Gull {L. argentatus), and the Kittiwake (Eissa 

 tridactyla) are the only species which breed. The first 

 named is one of the most numerous birds upon the islands, 

 and is only kept within bounds by the watchers, who are 

 instructed to take as many of its eggs as possible from 

 the inner islands, where it is apt to destroy the eggs 

 of the Eider Ducks and Terns. Its nests are, however, 

 left unmolested upon the Wawmses, and some of the outer 

 islands, and it is there that the bulk of the young birds are 

 reared. A few pairs of Herring Gulls are always associated 

 with the Black-backs ; but, in spite of their vastly inferior 

 numbers, I am inclined to think that they do more harm to 

 the eggs of other birds than their more numerous relatives, 



