3328 Birds. 



straight as an arrow, seldom missing their aim. The fishermen, with one consent, 

 agreed to go in search of this shoal of herrings, and said they had only to look out for 

 the Solan geese, which would never leave them as long as the light remained. The 

 young gannet is considered a rarity by some people, but they taste rather fishy. In 

 the year 1818 I had a day's sport with these birds on the Bass Rock Island ; they are 

 preserved for March, until the young are able to take flight. I went in the month 

 of August, with a party of five guns, to this romantic-looking rock. We ascended to 

 the summit, and placed ourselves at the edge of the precipice : the gannets gene- 

 rally came within thirty or forty yards before they could see us, but sheered off in- 

 stantly. The few old ones we shot fell into the sea below, and we did not bag them ; 

 many flew away sadly hurt, for they take a heavy shot to bring them down, and I 

 heard the pellets strike their wings plainly most times when I fired. A lovely sum- 

 mer day shone upon us as we returned to the hospitable table of a worthy old friend, 

 who gave us a splendid dinner, including young Solan geese with spicy sauce, roe- 

 buck, grainer, mutton five years old, as all the delicacies of the season. The following 

 description of the Bass Rock may be acceptable to some of your readers. It is about 

 twenty miles from Edinburgh, two or three miles from the shore, " in the Firth of 

 Forth, near Tantallon Castle, Haddingtonshire. It is of a circular form, about 300 

 feet in diameter, and about 1200 in circumference, nearly 400 feet high. Some parts 

 of it project in lofty terrific precipices over the sea, and there are vast excavations 

 round the base of the rock, caused by the water. The sea is of vast depth on the north- 

 east and west, but shallow on the south, and is here accessible in calm weather by 

 small boats. Various corallines and Fuci are produced in the surrounding sea. Vast 

 numbers of Solan geese resort to the Bass Island in March, for the purpose of breed- 

 ing, and deposit in September ; they are strictly preserved during the breeding season 

 by the owner of this beautiful and interesting rocky island.'' On the opposite coast, 

 the splendid Rock of Ailsa, near the island of Arran, coast of Ayrshire, is well worthy 

 the attention of the naturalist. This stupendous island is 900 feet in height, and two 

 miles in circumference, and is the resort of the greatest number of wild sea-birds of 

 any place I ever visited. The steamers in passing this rock generally fire off a small 

 carronade, and immediately the air is darkened with the vast myriads of these wild- 

 fowl ; the island is also well stocked with hares and rabbits. — Id. 



Specimen of the Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) shot at Clenchwarton, near Lynn, 

 Norfolk, November 11, 1851. — Whole length 2l£ inches. Beak black, cere lemon- 

 yellow : head and neck buff-white, with brown patches, lighter on the nape, darker on 

 the lore and ear-coverts, forming a conspicuous dark band inclosing the eye : on the 

 lower part of the neck brown occupies a larger portion of each feather, leaving white 

 tips, which gradually become smaller until they disappear entirely on the back and 

 wing-coverts, which are dark brown, the inner webs and margins being slightly paler : 

 the wing, from the carpal joint to the end of the longest quill- feathers {viz. the 3rd and 

 4th) 15£ inches ; primaries brownish black, first three deeply notched, fourth and fifth 

 less so ; inner web from the base to the commencement of the notch grayish white, 

 irregularly barred and spotted with pale brown ; secondaries brown, with dirty white 

 tips : tail-feathers irregularly barred with two shades of brown, tipped with dingy 

 white : chin white, throat white, with narrow longitudinal streaks of brown, the dark 

 colour increasing in extent and brilliancy on the breast, especially along the shafts of 

 the feathers; belly and flanks white, beautifully barred and streaked with dark brown: 

 under surface of quills mottled with gray and brown, darker towards the points ; 



