Page:BirdWatcherShetlands.djvu/422

386 Oyster Catcher. See Sea-pie

P

Palace of Truth, Mr. W. S. Gilbert's, As played and conceived of at Cheltenham, 243 (footnote)

Peewits, Habit of crouching in young, 6; which is not shared by adult, 6

— Relations of, with black-headed gull, 10

Peregrine Falcon, An exaggerated estimate of, 156

— Foiled by a partridge, 156; and by pigeons, 156, 157; and by a rook, 158

Pheasants, Refusal of a cock to rise, 44

— Unsportsmanlike conduct of, in Norfolk, 44

Pigeons, in a mirage, 36

— How seen to advantage, 157

— Coo of, terror of, 158

— Success of, against peregrine falcon, 157, 158; and eagles, 158, 159

Poet, the modern Christian, His devices for speaking the truth, 228, 229

Porpoise, A large kind of, 83, 84

Professors, The blood-prayer of, 148

Puffins, Pursued by arctic skua, 133

— Rapid flight of, 133

— Picked remains of, frequent, 136, 242

— Enemies of, 136, 137

— Great difference between young and old, 150

— Note of, 154, 155

— Impassive spectators, 169

— Lover-like actions of, 240

— Playfulness of, 240

— Sympathy shown by, 240, 241

— Mischances that may befall, 242

— Tendency of, to fight in mêlées, 242

— Marvellous beak of, 243; resembling a false nose used in amateur performance of The Palace of Truth at Cheltenham, 243 (footnote)

— Legs of, how coloured, 243, 244

— New sensation given by, 244

— Enormous numbers of, 244, 245

— Are somewhat silent, 245

— Nuptial display of, 246

— Male, a large-hearted bird, 246

— Buccal cavity of, a bright yellow, 246, 247; is probably a sexual adornment, 247, 248

Puffins, Eye of, almost as marked a feature as the beak, 299

— Young, dropped by herring-gull on to rocks, 308, 309

— Many fish brought in at a time by, 300; theory as to how this is done, 300, 301, 349

— Is strongly ritualistic, 313

— A lecture delivered to, 336–41

R

Railways, Absence of, add a charm to Sterne and Miss Austen, 193, 194

— The destroyers of man and nature, 193

Raven, Mobbed by arctic skuas, 191, 205

— None, this time, on the island, 191

— Battue of, in progress throughout the Shetlands, 191

— Very wary, 194

— Odd action of, in air, 194

— Flight of, not majestic, 205

Razorbill, Apparent habit of constantly drinking sea-water, of, 62

— Bright colouring of buccal cavity, of, 127; suggested explanation of, 129–31

— Nuptial note and actions of, 127

Red-throated Diver, A ripple in shape of bird, 59

— Resembles both a grebe and a guillemot, 59

— Neck of, very beautiful, 59, 60

— Dives like a grebe, 60, 61

— Apparent habit of continually drinking, of, 61

Right does not exist apart from might, 348, 349

Rock Pipit, Arctic skua baffled by a, 10, 160

S

Science, Hypocritical cloak of, 147

— Continual slaughter "for the sake of," 147

Scott, Sir Walter, Description of hawk chasing heron in The Betrothed, by, 9, 10

Sea Birds, Their apparent habit of constantly drinking sea-water, 62; possible explanation of this, 62

— Power of ejecting excrement to a distance, possessed by, 165, 166