150 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



is so near the shore that in wild storms the sea heats against the 

 churchyard -wall, and the spray flies right over the douhle-isled 

 church, and on to the houses beyond. The Manx Shearwater 

 breeds within the confines of Lleyn ; on Bardsey Island, for 

 instance, whence two birds were afterwards sent to me by a man 

 who had mistaken my instructions. But I had the pleasure of 

 liberating them in Abersoch harbour, and of seeing them go 

 safely out to sea with their easy ghostly flight. Moreover, I 

 found two birds on another island, in their burrows with their 

 eggs. The burrows were in a steep grassy slope immediately 

 over a much steeper rock falling to the sea ; so that the birds on 

 emerging could easily take wing. The holes were about five feet 

 deep, and turned, shortly after entering the ground, sharply to 

 the left, and ran parallel to the shore. At the end of each 

 burrow was a mass of short dead grass mixed with bits of Shear- 

 water down, forming a nest ; but whether this material was 

 collected by the Shearwaters or by Babbits before the former took 

 possession, I cannot say. The birds bit hard and savagely, and 

 also scratched ; and, armed as they are with a hard and sharp 

 curved end to their bills, and very sharp claws, I should think 

 they were quite capable of making it unpleasant for a Babbit. I 

 put a bird down on the glassy slope, and found that it rose fairly 

 well. As it went away, low over a quiet sea, the narrow wings 

 flapped with slight and easy strokes, which were continuous as 

 far as I could see the bird. It was quite a different style of 

 flight from that pursued by the Shearwater when seeking for food, 

 viz. a few flaps and then a glide on outstretched wings. I took 

 the opportunity of noting down the following description of the 

 soft parts : — Tarsus and part of toes pink ; the back of it from 

 the heel down to the upper joint of the toes, the whole of the 

 outer toe and two spots on the inner and middle toes (upper 

 surface), the edges of the web, and nearly all the under surface of 

 the web and toes, blackish. Claws dark horn or blackish. Inside 

 of mouth pale flesh-colour. Lower mandible, save edge and tip, 

 light bluish horn, the rest and the upper mandible dark horn. 

 Iris dark brown. 



