FUBTHEB NOTES FROM LLEYN. 145 



on the islands off the coast. We found three eggs in a nest on 

 St. Tudwal's, and a bend in the cliffs near Trw3'n Cilan enabled 

 me to drive a bird off her nest, also containing three eggs, which 

 she was loth to leave on account, probably, of the Jackdaws ; but 

 with these exceptions I only saw two eggs in any nest in the third 

 week in May. On the west side of Pen Cilan rows of Shags sat 

 on some long ledges, overhung with rock, in the lower part of the 

 cliff. Cormorants, the adults easily distinguished a long way off 

 by the white thigh patch, also resort to the cliffs ; but the Shag 

 is much the commoner species. In the caves of St. Tudwal's 

 Island two Shags were sitting on their nests. One was not very 

 high up. She was very savage, and, partly at us and partly at a 

 Eazorbill just below her, made savage demonstrations, opening 

 her beak and showing her yellow mouth, and wagging her head 

 violently, making the while a low angry croaking cry. She 

 showed not the least sign of fear, and did not leave her nest, 

 although we were not far from her. But the nest was quite safe, 

 as it could only have been reached with the aid of a long ladder. 

 Another was rather high up, and quite at the mouth of the cave. 

 When at the top of the island we could see down into this large 

 nest, made of seaweed, dead herbage, and a few large dead plant- 

 stems as thick as one's finger. The single egg it contained lay 

 quite at the edge of the nest. The bird had to be gently pelted, 

 and actually hit by a small stone before she would leave the shelf. 

 We saw there a grand old Cormorant, and some others, besides 

 more Shags, Kittiwakes breed in some numbers at Cilan, but 

 had not, I believe, begun to lay. Quite a flock of them sat on 

 the sea a little way off shore, and every now and then a chorus 

 of their curious cries broke out. I saw only one Lesser Black- 

 backed Gull there. This species does not seem to be at all 

 common in Lleyn in summer. An Oystercatcher's nest on 

 Mercrosse had three eggs on May 15th. A few breed on the 

 islands, and they are fairly common round the coast. There 

 must be something very attractive about the shelving rocks on 

 the east side of St. Tudwal's to the Purple Sandpiper. I have 

 already recorded two occurrences of this bird there in May, and 

 I can now add another. On the 19th, as we backed our boat 

 into one of the caves, we came within a couple of yards of a 

 Purple Sandpiper on a shelf of rock. It was not in adult 



