Review

Review

Skokholm Bird Observatory. Report for 1938. As this interesting report shows, Mr, R. M. Lockley is gradually building up at Skokholm a bird observatory which is doing valuable work. A large number of people visited the island during t h e year and helped in t h e observing and ringing. The latter has reached large "proportions and a ringing office has now been built, which has caused a deficit in the funds and it is hoped t h a t those interested in t h e work being done will remove this. A great a t t e m p t has been made t o exterminate the rabbits and if this has been accomplished, the ecological results should be very interesting. I t has been found by ringing t h a t both Guillemots and Razorbills appear t o breed when a year old, whereas Manx Shearwaters apparently do not, b u t they have been proved to visit the island during late summer a year after hatching. The Skokholm Shearwater homing experiments are now well known, and it is interesting to learn from this Report t h a t t h e second ringed Shearwater released in Venice in 1937, which did not return t h a t year, was found at its old burrow on March 30th, 1938. Fulmar Petrels haunted t h e coast as they did in 1937, b u t were not seen to alight. An Ortolan Bunting is recorded on May 19th and a number of other interesting items are included in t h e Report.