THE BIRDS OF PAPA STOUR. 133 



plished, and I was exceedingly glad to again jump on board our 

 boat. 



Mr. Scott told me that while Peter and I were up the stack 

 a " Mallie " (Fulmar Petrel) had been seen circling round it ; but 

 whether this points to the possibility of a new colony of this 

 evidently extending species, or whether the bird was only a 

 straggler from Foula, where the Fulmar has been established 

 for about eighteen years, I was not able to ascertain. 



The men all assured me that this was the first time that Lyra 

 had been ascended by anyone not a native ; and this being so, I 

 regret that I did not obtain specimens of the plants growing there, 

 as places inaccessible to sheep are scarce in Shetland, and here, 

 if anywhere, one would expect to find survivals of different 

 climatic conditions to those which now prevail over the islands. 



Though rabbits are plentiful on Papa and the islets in the 

 Sound, fortunately there are no rats ; nor, indeed, are there any 

 of these destructive animals in the whole district of Sandness, 

 on the opposite shore of the mainland. 



We disturbed many Seals on Fogla, but all those I saw were 

 of the common species, Phoca vitulina. H. gryphus, however, 

 frequents the Ve Skerries in some numbers. 



List of the Birds noted, with the Native Names. 



Saxicola cenanthe, Wheatear (Steinkle). The most generally 

 diffused land bird. 



Troglodytes parvulus, Wren (Robin). Not common. 



Anthus obscurus, Rock Pipit (Bank Sparrow). Fairly abun- 

 dant on the cliffs ; observed on Fogla, but not on Lyra. 



Hirundo rustica, Swallow. Several were seen for about a 

 week, about Sandness and the Sound of Papa, in May, 1890. 



Passer domesticus, Sparrow. Abundant, nesting in the thatch 

 of the houses and sheds. 



Acanthis flavirostris, Twite (Lintie). Not very numerous. I 

 found a nest with young in 1887, on Papa. 



Emberiza miliaria, Common Bunting. Common round the 

 crofts. 



Sturnus vulgaris, Starling (Starn). Abundant. 



Corvus cor ax, Raven. One or two pairs breed. Mr. W. E. 

 Clarke saw five near the " Horn," in June, 1890. 



Corvus comix, Hooded Crow (Craa). Common. 



