. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 59 [Vol. liv. is bad, gales sweeping the country in summer as well as in winter, with heavy rains. The climate, however, is mild, owing to the Gulf Stream. The agriculture is primitive ; fishing, especially for herring, constitutes the principal industry of the country. Our first ornithological visit was to Noss, the small island lying to the east of Bressay, and separated from it by a narrow sea-channel. We crossed the Sound of Bressay in the ferry- boat (a hfe-boat of the old ' Oceanic,' which was torpedoed in the War), then walked across Bress
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 59 [Vol. liv. is bad, gales sweeping the country in summer as well as in winter, with heavy rains. The climate, however, is mild, owing to the Gulf Stream. The agriculture is primitive ; fishing, especially for herring, constitutes the principal industry of the country. Our first ornithological visit was to Noss, the small island lying to the east of Bressay, and separated from it by a narrow sea-channel. We crossed the Sound of Bressay in the ferry- boat (a hfe-boat of the old ' Oceanic,' which was torpedoed in the War), then walked across Bressay, some two miles, to its eastern side, where we were rowed across the channel by one of the watcher's daughters. Jameson, the watcher, lives on the only house on the island, and keeps sheep. The. island is small and covered with short grass, on which the sheep and numerous rabbits feed. From sea-level the ground gradually rises by an easy slope to a summit (the Noup of Noss) ; then, as if the hill had been cut sheer through by an enormous knife, it drops straight down into the sea, forming a cUfF or precipice nearly 600 feet in height (fig. 1). Innumerable birds inhabit this wonderful island. On the slopes the Great Skua {Catharacta s. shim) and Richardson's, or the Arctic, Skua {Stercorarius parasiticus) breed in large numbers. On the cliff's Ravens {Corvus c. corax), Cormorants (Phalacrocorax c. carbo), Shags {Phalacrocorax a. aristotelis), Gannets {Sula bassana), Herring-Gulls {Lams a. argentatus),. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Taylor, Nancy M. Oxford : Clarendon Press
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