16 Dr. R. 0. Cunningham on the Solan Goose. 
over the cave, has furnished the site of the ancient chapel of the 
island, while the upper and largest was once occupied by the 
garden. The principal birds that breed on the Bass are the 
Solan Goose, the Foolish Guillemot [Uria troile), the Kittiwake 
[Larus rissa), the Cormorant (Phalacrocoraoc carbo), the Shag 
( Phalacrocoraxgraculus ), the Razorbill (.Alca torda),t\iQ Herring- 
Gull [Larus argentatus ), the Common Gull [Larus canus ), the 
Great Black-backed Gull [Larus marinus), and the Puffin [Fra- 
tercula arctica). The Black Guillemot (Uria grylle) is men¬ 
tioned by Ray, but has not, I believe, been seen by subsequent 
observers ; and the Peregrine Falcon [Falco peregrinus ) and 
Eider-Duck [Somateria mollissima ), which used to build on the 
island, have for some time disappeared. 
The Solan Geese are met with in great numbers on all the 
several faces of the rock, and one or two colonies occur near the 
landing-places. Macgillivray estimates the number which he 
saw on the occasion of a visit to the island in 1831 at about 
twenty thousand; and, judging from the multitudes I saw when 
I visited it in 1862, I do not think there has been any material 
decrease since that time. The Gannets make their appearance 
about the middle of February or beginning of March, and, as a 
general rule, take their departure in October. A few, however, 
seem to remain throughout the winter; for they are not unfre- 
quently seen during that season by the fishermen of the Firth, 
and towards the close of last December I obtained a full-grown 
individual which had been caught in a herring-net. The nests 
were described by the older observers as built of sticks; but 
either they were mistaken or the Geese have changed their cus¬ 
toms; for nowadays, as I can testify from personal observations, 
they are constructed entirely of grass and seaweeds, particularly 
the Fucus digitatus and other of the common Fucoids. They 
are built in the form of a flattened cone, the base of which “ is 
about 20 inches in diameter, with a shallow terminal cavity;” 
and their artificers exhibit great industry in collecting materials 
for them, tearing up grass and turf with their powerful bills, 
and frequently engaging in conflicts with one another during 
the process. 
They lay but one egg; but if it is removed another is depo- 
