32 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [February 



remarkable, considering the many thousands which build there. On 

 August 1 2th they left the Skerry, and in a few days afterwards there 

 was only a solitary one here and there to be seen ; they migrate south- 

 wards, either to avoid the cold or to find waters where their prey swims 

 nearer to the surface. 



Razor Bill (Aha torda). — In general habits it closely resembles the 

 Guillemot and Puffin, but is more frequently seen swimming than flying. 



Oyster-Catcher (Hcematopus ostralegus). — As a rule this bird 

 frequents rocky places, where they feed on mussels and other bivalves 

 limpets, Crustacea, and small fish. Mussel-Catcher, would be a more 

 appropriate name than that by which it is known, for it neither has the 

 power of diving in quest of oysters, nor of opening them if it could obtain 

 them. 



Shag (Phalacrocorax graculus). — Except for being smaller and 

 slightly different in plumage, there is little to distinguish them from the 

 Cormorants ; they are very shy birds, and are often to be seen on some 

 ledge of rock, where they repair for the threefold purpose of resting, 

 digesting their food, and drying their wings, an act which they perform 

 by extending their bodies to their full height, and spreading their wirgs to 

 their utmost extent. I will call your attention to the egg of this bird, 

 which is almost entirely covered with a white, chalky incrustation, which, 

 however, admits of easy removal by a knife, leaving the shell of a bluish 

 green colour. 



Common Tern (Sterna fliiviatilis). — Generally known as the Sea 

 Swallow ; is less in size than any of the common species of Gulls, with 

 which it is often confounded by the unobservant. It is more lively and 

 active in its motions, and is often seen hovering like a hawk over, some 

 breakers, when, suddenly, it descends as if shot, to secure some small fry. 

 One day on the Skerry I was going after some of the young birds, when 

 I was pounced on by some fifty of these birds, and several times I was 

 beaten with their wings as they flew by, uttering their harsh screams; I 

 felt somewhat alarmed, but I have no doubt it was their mode of defence 

 and to drive me away from their young ; a couple of Herons wanting 

 to alight were also summarily beaten off by these birds. 



Stormy Petrel (Procellaj'ia pelagica), generally- known as "Mother 

 Carey's Chicken," the smallest of webbed-footed birds, is as a rule 

 invisible during calm or bright weather, when they hide themselves in 

 holes, and behind stones, but when the sky clouds over, these ill-omened 

 heralds of the tempest, inspiring more terror than would be caused even 

 by the hurricane itself, leave their hiding places, not because a storm is 

 impending, but because the cloud which accompanies the storm brings 

 them the desired gloom. The single egg I obtained, I took from under 

 the bird itself, and was the only one found on the Skerry. A few months 

 back, I saw, in a bird-stuffer's shop in Liverpool, one of these birds 



