28 Something about Sea Birds, 



By far the greater proportion were razorbills, distinguishable 

 even at this distance by their snow-white breasts and black 

 heads and backs : among them were scattered guillemots in 

 considerable abundance, perhaps as one to four : these sit 

 more upright than the razorbills, are of less bright plumage, 

 and keep their heads close on their shoulders, as though they 

 had no neck. Some ledges were occupied solely by puffins, 

 of which the conspicuous bills and squat though upright 

 position rendered them instantly distinguishable. The little 

 fellows turned their heads sharply on their shoulders, first on 

 one side, then on the other, like people holding an animated 

 conversation. They have white cheeks with a black hood, 

 which seems fastened under the chin with a band of the same 

 colour. A few of the delicately white kittiwakes were perched 

 here and there on a projecting crag ; and, scattered at regular 

 intervals, like stern, upright, solitary sentinels, stood the cor- 

 vorants, spotting with black the whole surface of the cliff. A 

 noise, as one might suppose like that of disembodied spirits 

 in purgatory, issued from every part of the rock ; it proceeded 

 from the razorbills or guillemots, we could not discover 

 which ; but, of all the horrid and piteous groanings I have ever 

 heard, these were the most so. Perhaps it was only a morn- 

 ing hymn of thankfulness and happiness ; perhaps the soft 

 note of love ; perhaps the united cry of thousands of the young 

 for food. Being sufficiently near to see very clearly the whole 

 mass of living creatures before us, the fishermen suggested 

 that a single barrel should be fired at random, at the same 

 time they both gave a tremendous shout. Words cannot 

 describe the scene that followed : corvorants, mews, gulls, 

 terns, kittiwakes, puffins, razorbills, guillemots, all left their 

 stations; the very surface of the cliff came towards us. The 

 remaining barrels were soon emptied, and all was one wild 

 uproar : the sky was positively darkened ; the air filled with 

 heterogeneous sounds ; the screams, the calls, the groans of 

 the birds ; the continued ringing of the fishermen's shouts ; 

 the almost everlasting echoes of our guns, which every crag 

 and cranny seemed determined to reiterate ; and, above all, and 

 harmonising all, the tumultuous roar of the restless ocean, as 

 its long and heavy swell dashed against the perpendicular but 

 rugged cliff, produced such a combination of sights and sounds, 

 as, once seen and heard, can never be forgotten. 



But where was the produce of our united discharge? 

 Twenty or thirty birds, at least, ought to have fallen plump 

 into the sea; for we fired right in their faces, and some of 

 them seemed to be within ten yards of us : however, not a 

 bird fell, nor did there appear to be a single feather touched. 



