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The Gaelic Names of Birds. 85
This is a very waiy bird, and very difficult to approach or
capture, hence the old proverb :— "Trod nam ban niu'n sgarbh, 's
an sgarbh a muigh air an loch "—the scolding of the wives above
the shag, and the shag out on the loch. Quarrelling about it before
they had captured it. Another old proverb, common in
Hebrides, is
the
:— '• Biodli gach fear a' toirt sgairbh a' creagan dha
fheiii "— let every man take shags out of rocks for himself. Sheriff
Nicolson says :— "Alleged to have been said by a St Kilda man to
his comrade, who was holding the rope above and asked if he had
secured birds for them both. On hearing the answer above quoted,
the holder of the rope is said to have replied, ' Let every man
liold the rope for himself,' and let him go !" These bold cragsmen
descend the rocks for the " oragan," or young shags, which are
reckoned good eating there. Mr A. A. Carmichael writes me
frjm Uist :— " The oragan are so fat and helpless that they frequently
tumble out of the nest down into the sea, then they
scramble on shore on ledges of rock as best they can. In Minbiidh
adventurous bird-catchers go to the rocks at nights and catch these
asleci). These })irds sleep with their heads under their wings.
Their enemies place them between their knees and wring their
necks."
GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE.
Latin—