ST. KILDA. 



165 



Black Guillemot. 



with kittiwakes, auks, and guillemots ; all the grassy spots are 

 tenanted by the fulmar, and honey-combed by myriads of 

 puffins ; while close to the water's edge on tbe wet rocks, which 

 are hollowed out into deep recesses, 

 sit clusters of cormorants, erect and 

 motionless, like so many unclean 

 spirits, guarding the entrance of some 

 _gloomy cave. 



On rolling down a large stone from 

 the summit, a strange scene of con- 

 fusion ensues. Here, falling like a 

 thunderbolt on some unfortunate fulmar sitting upon its nest, 

 it crushes the poor creature in an instant ; then rolling down 

 the crags, and cutting deep furrows 

 in the grassy slopes, it scatters in 

 dismay the dense groups of auks and 

 guillemots. Its progress all along 

 is marked by the clouds of birds, 

 which affrighted shoot out from the 

 precipice to avoid the fate to which 

 nevertheless many fall a prey, until 

 at length it reaches the bottom along 

 with its many victims. The scared 



tenants of the rock now return to their resting-places, and all 

 is again comparatively quiet. 



Several species of gulls are of common occurrence on St. 

 Kilda : Larus marinus, fuscus, canus, and tridactylus. The 

 last, or kittiwake, is the most abundant ; a social bird, choosing 

 the most inaccessible spots. On disturbing a colony of kitti- 

 wakes, most of the birds leave their nests and fly about the 

 intruder, uttering incessantly their clamorous but not unmusical 

 cry. The noise from a large flock is almost deafening; the 

 ■flapping of their wings and their loud screams, joined to the 

 deep guttural notes of the passing gannets, and the shrill tones 

 ■of the larger gulls, form a combination of sounds without a 

 parallel in nature. Probably on account of its vigilance, the 

 kittiwake is not pursued by the fowler. 



The fulmar breeds in almost incredible numbers on St. Kilda 

 (the only place in Britain where he is foundj, and is to the 

 natives by far the most important production of their barren 



W&-- 



Common Puffin. 



