414 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
grassy slopes high up in these northern headlands. . . . A few 
years ago only two or three pairs did so, but of late years more 
have come, and since Herr Gron began his whale-fishing opera- 
tions at Hide Fjord they have become very (i. e. comparatively) 
abundant inside the fjord, and close up to the harbour or land- 
ing-stage. This means a considerable extension of range, and 
may point to a direct cause ; just as at Foula (Shetland) a great 
stranded whale was said to have first influenced the birds to 
take up quarters at the Kaim of that island (see further on). A 
few years before Herr Gron’s advent they were not known to 
come inside the ‘jaws’ of the fjord. A great increase may now 
be looked for.”” And, again: ‘‘ All along the south cliffs near 
Soorvaag and Midevaag, and close to the towering precipices, 
‘ Mollymauks’ were flying, but we noticed that the cliffs here do 
not rise in successive or in parallel ledges as almost invariably 
is the case in our Scottish nurseries; rather are they honey- 
combed by cavities, holding at most a few pairs of birds, or even 
single nesting pairs. Thus the colonies are more scattered and 
not massed together. The cliffs are amygdaloid, with bands of 
basalt, with studded crystals of scolecite ;* and the cliffs visited 
by the yacht’s gig on June 30th literally overhung our boat, and 
may have been some 1700 ft. in sheer height. (The Malin Head 
at Hide, on the north coast, is over 2800 ft. in height, and some 
comparatively lesser stacks along its base are 1000 ft. in alti- 
tude.) It is only at close quarters that one can realize the vast- 
ness of their height, or the bird population. At a distance of 
even half a mile only a few places show white from the deposit 
of the birds’ guano. Nowhere did we see any bird colonies to 
compare in density with many of our Scottish nurseries, unless 
it was at Mygganaes. For many miles of cliff-face there is 
scarcely a symptom of bird-life, and it is not even at quite close 
quarters that it is always easy to understand why they should 
be so unoccupied. 
‘‘ Harvie-Brown’s party had no opportunity of close acquaint- 
ance with the south isles of their earlier habitations in Suderoe, 
Storre, and Lille Dimon. Finally, in the list of birds seen in 
Faroe, we find it summed up: Fulmar Petrels—old and young— 
* Auct. Prof. Heddle, who accompanied Harvie-Brown, and who had 
also previous personal acquaintance with Faroe. 
