NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF LUNDY ISLAND. 443 



tin ue to breed there year by year in their accustomed legions, 

 the chief resort being the North End. The Gulls were nesting in 

 prodigious quantities, especially the Herring-Gulls and Kitti- 

 wakes. The Lesser Black-backed was also common, but the 

 fourth species of Gull, the Great Black-backed, is very rare, 

 and will probably be locally extinct shortly. Perhaps not more 

 than two pairs are now left, one of which nests near the Shutter 

 Bock. 



The numbers of the Cormorants and Shags appear entirely 

 insignificant beside those of the other sea-birds, but they appear 

 to be maintaining their hold, breeding especially on the Gannet 

 Stone. 



One's general impression of the island, ornithologically, and 

 apart from the sea-birds, consists of Linnets, Meadow-Pipits, 

 Stonechats, and Larks. 



Mr. H. J. Boss, who last winter, in conjunction with Mr. 



A. H. Bousham, read a paper on Lundy birds before the Exeter 



B. A. M. Field Club and Nat. Hist. Society, records that he dis- 

 covered about three pairs of Whinchats (Pratincola rubetra) on 

 the island in the preceding June. He writes to me that he is 

 quite satisfied with his identification, as he is well acquainted 

 with the species, although he has never seen it in Devon before. 

 I have never seen the Whinchat in North Devon, where, if it 

 occurs, it must be a very rare bird, nor did I observe it on Lundy 

 during my visit. Messrs. Matthew and D'Urban, in ' The Birds 

 of Devon,' after remarking on the rarity of the Whinchat in 

 North Devon, suggest that in the list of Lundy Island birds 

 (presumably that drawn up by Mr. J. B. Chanter in his mono- 

 graph on Lundy) the Whinchat was confounded with the 

 Stonechat. But Mr. Blathwayt {loc. cit.) records it again, and 

 his testimony, together with Mr. Boss's, is quite sufficient to 

 show that the Whinchat is, in fact, a summer visitant to Lundy. 

 Mr. Boss observed them in June, and Mr. Blathwayt in May, but 

 no nest is reported to have been found, although it appears very 

 probable the birds are resident. In any case, their occurrence 

 on the island and their probable absence from the mainland is 

 sufficiently interesting. 



Within the past twelve years or so the House- Sparrow and 

 the Starling have established themselves on the island, but the 



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