42 



BIRD NOTES AND NEWS. 



home of about 250 people, for whom existence 

 is austere enough, and it is also the home of 

 innumerable sea-birds, including the Great and 

 Richardson's Skuas, The island has, however, 

 changed hands twice since Mr. R. C. C. Scott 

 received the London Zoological Society's silver 

 medal for his protection of this rare species ; 

 and two or three years ago the Society for the 

 Protection of Birds thought it advisable to send 

 a special representative over to report on the 

 present condition of the birds. 



In 1 89 1 the Zoological Society also awarded 

 a silver medal to Mrs. Edmonston for protection 

 of the Great Skua in the Island of Unst ; and 

 the collector has this summer had a wholesome 

 lesson by the conviction of an English clergy- 

 man for taking Skua eggs in Unst, the penalty 

 being emphasized, under the Act of 1902, by the 

 forfeiture of the specimens. 



Lundy is about the same size in acres as 

 Foula, but lies only nine miles off the Devon- 

 shire coast, and has the advantage of regular 

 communication with Instow, whence Captain 

 Dark's little boat, the Gannet, brings the mails 

 once a week ; but the journey has been known 

 to occupy ten hours. In turn a nest of pirates, 

 the retreat of an assassin, a stronghold of 

 Royalists, the headquarters of French privateers, 

 and a convict settlement, Lundy Island can 

 boast a history that would furnish plots for many 

 a romance ; and the granite from its rocks that 

 forms part of the Thames Embankment might 

 tell strange tales. Although included in County 

 Devon, the happy islanders of the present day 

 pay neither rates nor taxes ; it is apparently 

 outside the Customs and extra-diocesan. The 

 name of Lundy is derived from the old Icelandic 

 name of the puffin, and in old days the sea-birds 

 were taken in immense numbers for their 

 feathers. More lately they have found worse 

 enemies in the crews of pilot boats and in the 

 dealers and sight-seers who come egg-collecting. 

 The whole island being a great resort of birds, 

 was made a protected area by the Devonshire 

 County Council, at the desire of the owner, the 

 Rev. H. G. Heaven ; but the law has never 

 been enforced, and in the absence of police and 



magistrate it seemed improbable that it would 

 be observed without some little gentle pressure 

 from outside. The small colony of Gannets 

 was, in the opinion of an eminent ornithologist, 

 in imminent danger of extermination, not having 

 been allowed to bring off any young birds for 

 several years ; and, accordingly, with the assent 

 of the owner, the Society for the Protection of 

 Birds has this year had a watcher on the island 

 throughout the breeding season. The difficulties 

 have been considerable ; but the Coastguard 

 and Trinity House authorities expressed their 

 willingness to co-operate with the Society as far 

 as lay in their power, and it is hoped that the 

 people of Lundy will in every way support the 

 efforts made to preserve one of the great natural 

 attractions of their island, so that the safety of 

 the Gannets and other interesting birds may be 

 ensured. 



THE ST. KILDA ACT. 



Thanks to the efforts of the Society for the 

 Protection of Birds, seconded by Lord Balfour of 

 Burleigh and Sir Herbert Maxwell, there is reason 

 to hope that next spring the operations of the egg 

 collector in St. Kilda will be practically stopped. 

 The wren, peculiar to this island, has been almost 

 exterminated, and the fork-tailed petrel has been 

 growing rarer year by year. The Macleod, to whom 

 the island belongs, had vainly exerted his personal 

 influence to prevent the taking of nests and eggs 

 for export. He felt that the islanders were not 

 so much to blame as the dealers who incited these 

 poor people to this course in order to secure a 

 profit for themselves. One dealer sent last year 

 about a dozen nests of this wren, with full clutches, 

 to a London auction room. There was a vigorous 

 protest in the press, but nothing could be done. 

 In reviewing the situation at the annual meeting of 

 the Society in February last, The Macleod, at the 

 instance of his factor, suggested that all should be 

 protected except the fulmar, gannet, guillemot, 

 puffin, and razorbill. The suggestion was at once 

 acted upon. A short amending Bill on these lines 

 was drafted by the Society ; it was introduced by 

 Sir Herbert Maxwell, and piloted by Lord Balfour 

 of Burleigh through the House of Lords. Taken 

 in conjunction with Lord Jersey's Act, this measure 

 should stop the further depletion of the breeding 

 stock of the fork-tailed petrel. Few trading col- 

 lectors would care to buy the protected eggs, which 

 cannot then be sold openly without the risk of a 

 prosecution that is almost sure to end in a fine of 

 a pound an egg and the forfeiture of the clutch. — 

 Field (Aug. 13th, 1904). 



