25 
which roared and raged through the narrow caverns 
where these beautiful birds breed. The rock-pigeons . 
were very numerous, and constantly flying between 
their wild but secure breeding places and the small 
fields about Durness. He shot a few of them, and 
found their crops full of green food, such as clover, 
the leaves of the oat, &c. A number of small shells 
were also in the crop of every bird.” There wasa 
fact fora sea-shore dove-cot. Take again an extract 
from Colonel Napier’s amusing and spirited ‘ Wild 
Sporis of Europe,” cited by Dixon. The scene is in 
the vicinity of the decayed palace of Marfa, at the 
western extremity of Malta. ‘On learning that. 
our professed vocation was to wage war on the beasts 
of the earth, the fowls of the air, and fishes of the sea, 
the old pensioner, who was in charge of the place, 
and was known by the name of Sans Fagon, ex- 
pressed his regret that it was too early in the season 
_ for the tunny fishery, which he described as being 
well worth seeing, and which has been celebrated in 
history even from the times of the Pheenicians. He 
however proposed to accompany us on a sporting 
excursion, aud promised to indicate the usual abodes 
of the blue pigeon, which in great numbers frequents 
ali the precipitous cliffs forming the boundary of this 
rocky coast. We accordingly sailed out, and pro- 
ceeding in a southerly direction towards the cliffs, 
went over ground such as in all my wanderings, I 
had never before witnessed. * * * * Leaving 
this scene of desolation, this wide bed of lava and 
volcanic deposit, we gradually ascended, as the 
abrupt and rocky shore now assumed a still bolder 
c 
