Ornithological Observations and Reflections in Shetland. 377 
they show much greater powers of flight than this suggests. 
Thus, to-day, a large flock of them acted much more aerially, 
rising to some height, and then wheeling round and round, the 
wings being often held extended, and not flapped during one 
or two fairly wide circles. Sometimes they swept swiftly 
down with them thus set, tilting their broad surface this 
way and that to catch the wind advantageously ; but, 
more than this they often rose as they thus sailed and circled, 
shooting upwards without effort. The effect of so many of 
these large dark gloomy-looking birds disporting thus with 
ease, though hardly with lightness, was helped, as it were, 
by that of a band of Gulls (all Great Black-backs) which had 
gone off at the same time and floated now with more mastery, 
yet withal in much the same manner, in wider circles above 
them. 
Oct. 10th. — Started in a high wind to the most northern point 
of the island which, with the great ‘ stacks ’ beyond it, near or 
more outlying, is all a precipice. It is one of the principal 
assembly-places of the Shags about here, and some thirty to 
forty of them were gathered upon it. I got to a projecting 
stone, overlooking them where the hill begins to fall away, 
either unseen or sufficiently so not to cause alarm, and soon began 
to observe what interested me greatly, namely that the birds 
were amusing themselves by making short flights out from their 
rock, and returning to it. First one and then another of them, 
at irregular intervals, would rise from its place, sweep down 
upon the wind for some distance, poise itself, for a moment, 
turn, and in a wide curve, which was full of grace, come sweeping 
back again. This was repeated time and time again, without 
any ulterior object being discoverable, till it became obvious 
that the flight was made merely for its own sake, with no 
thought other than the pleasure attending it. The aerial 
power exhibited by the various birds in this exercise, as one may 
call it, was by no means uniform. Some beat the air with their 
wings for some little time, before holding them extended and 
motionless, and then, having sailed a part of the way, gave a 
few more beats and glided on. Others, as they rose, set them 
at once to the blast, and made the whole circle in this manner, 
whilst others, again, repeated it several times, or even indefin- 
itely in much the same fashion as Gulls. These superior pow- 
ers were more and more commonly exhibited as the tempest 
rose, those birds particularly which stood upon the higher 
points of the precipice delighting to cast themselves off, on ex- 
panded pinions into the dark, wild stormy sky. As evening sank 
and light faded, the scene became wilder, the wind shrieked, 
the waters dashed, and the dark circling forms crossed, followed 
or skimmed aslant one another like embodied forces of the 
storm. I noticed that many times a Shag sweeping in to its 
1914 Dec. 1. 
z 
