Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/169

Rh on the islands off the coast. We found three eggs in a nest on St. Tudwal's, and a bend in the cliffs near Trwyn Cilan enabled me to drive a bird off her nest, also containing three eggs, which she was loth to leave on account, probably, of the Jackdaws; but with these exceptions I only saw two eggs in any nest in the third week in May. On the west side of Pen Cilan rows of Shags sat on some long ledges, overhung with rock, in the lower part of the cliff. Cormorants, the adults easily distinguished a long way off by the white thigh patch, also resort to the cliffs; but the Shag is much the commoner species. In the caves of St. Tudwal's Island two Shags were sitting on their nests. One was not very high up. She was very savage, and, partly at us and partly at a Razorbill just below her, made savage demonstrations, opening her beak and showing her yellow mouth, and wagging her head violently, making the while a low angry croaking cry. She showed not the least sign of fear, and did not leave her nest, although we were not far from her. But the nest was quite safe, as it could only have been reached with the aid of a long ladder. Another was rather high up, and quite at the mouth of the cave. When at the top of the island we could see down into this large nest, made of seaweed, dead herbage, and a few large dead plant-stems as thick as one's finger. The single egg it contained lay quite at the edge of the nest. The bird had to be gently pelted, and actually hit by a small stone before she would leave the shelf. We saw there a grand old Cormorant, and some others, besides more Shags. Kittiwakes breed in some numbers at Cilan, but had not, I believe, begun to lay. Quite a flock of them sat on the sea a little way off shore, and every now and then a chorus of their curious cries broke out. I saw only one Lesser Black-backed Gull there. This species does not seem to be at all common in Lleyn in summer. An Oystercatcher's nest on Mercrosse had three eggs on May 15th. A few breed on the islands, and they are fairly common round the coast. There must be something very attractive about the shelving rocks on the east side of St. Tudwal's to the Purple Sandpiper. I have already recorded two occurrences of this bird there in May, and I can now add another. On the 19th, as we backed our boat into one of the caves, we came within a couple of yards of a Purple Sandpiper on a shelf of rock. It was not in adult