The Manx Shearwater. 2 33 



all hours between Ardnamurchan and the Sound of Rum, generally flying in 

 irregular lines and sometimes alighting on the sea. I have studied the habits 

 of these birds on many occasions, and lain in wait among the rocks in order to 

 witness the return home, at dusk, of such individuals as have spent the day upon 

 the sea. The noisy chorus produced by the cries of those returning home 

 uniting tumultuously with the vociferations of their brooding partners must be 

 heard to be believed. Any one who has occasion to invade the burrow of a 

 Manx Shearwater in the nesting time should be prepared for a loud cackling 

 and scolding from the owner, which is sure to employ its sharp bill as a weapon 

 of defence. But the complaints of such an injured individual can convey no 

 conception of the babel of voices heard when an entire Shearwater colony unites 

 in a nocturnal concert. " The air," writes Mr. Barrington, " became alive with 

 Shearwaters answering those underground, the rush of their wings as they sailed 

 past with extraordinary swiftness would of itself have made a loud volume 

 of sound, but when the night-air was filled with their cries in addition, it was 

 indeed as if Bedlam were let loose. The note is always the same, — cuck-cuck-oo,. 

 generally repeated three times, and with a varying degree of loudness and 

 harshness, or hoarseness, which is concentrated in the final ' oo.' " These 

 strange cries are often heard by Highland fishermen when lifting lines in the 

 vicinity of a Shearwater colony. But whatever the census of any particular 

 breeding colony, the Manx Shearwater must always rank as one of our rarer 

 seafowl. The food of the Shearwater consists partly of small squids, crustaceans, 

 and other floating pelagic organisms. The Manx Shearwater does not usually 

 associate on the water with any other bird; but I have seen large flocks 

 of Manx Shearwaters and Herring Gulls mixed together, the birds clustering 

 densely over the waves as they sought to glut their appetites on shoals 

 of immature surface fishes. Dark spirits of the deep as Shearwaters usually 

 appear to be while careering headlong over the waves, their sombre appearance 

 becomes intensified by contrast with the white heads and pearl- grey mantles of a 

 party of mature Herring Gulls. The Manx Shearwater like the Fulmar is an 

 excellent diver, but it seldom obtains its food at any distance below the surface. 

 Nor does it usually remain swimming on the surface of the water for any length 

 of time, since it prefers to continue a restless flight across the trough of the sea 

 all through the day, during which it must of necessity cover enormous 

 distances. It is for this reason that the Shearwater is generally supposed to be 

 much more abundant within certain areas than is really the case, since the same 

 birds may be seen at many different points during the day. The Shearwaters do 

 not literally shear the crest of the waves, but only skim their surface. Their 



Vol. VI 2 L 



