THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 744,— June, 1903. 



ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE BIEDS OF LLEYN. 

 By 0. V. Aplin, F.L.S. 



As I was anxious to pay another visit to the small islands 

 called Ynys Gwylan fawr and Ynys Gwylan fach, and in fine 

 weather if possible, I arrived at Aberdaron on the 27th May, 

 1902. But for two whole days the wind, that curse of Lleyn, 

 blew so hard that it was impossible to get out in a boat, and the 

 Bardsey men who came across early in the morning of the 28th 

 were weatherbound. The third morning, however, was calm, and 

 we got off soon after 7 a.m. There is a small breeding colony 

 of Guillemots and Razorbills on the larger island, and some 

 Shags breed, as also on Trwyn y Penrhyn, off which the islands 

 lie. Puffins breed on both islands, as I suspected ; the eggs 

 were fresh, but much discoloured on account of recent rain 

 making the birds' feet muddy. I found the nest of the Great 

 Black-backed Gull in exactly the same spot where I found it 

 two years before. It contained two eggs. There was no built- 

 up nest such as the Herring- Gull makes, but merely a depression 

 in the ground among the scurvy-grass, nine inches in diameter, 

 and four inches deep, with a few bits of scurvy-grass at the 

 bottom. At the side of the nest lay a casting, half as large again 

 as a golf-ball, composed apparently entirely of Puffins' feathers ! 

 The deep-toned husky " caow " of the Great Black-backed Gull 

 is a very impressive bird-sound, as also the angry " gag gag gag." 

 Another pair inhabiting a stack off the mainland had possibly 

 Zool. 4th 8er. vol. VII., Jtme, 1903. R 



