36 Wild Birds and their Haunts 



on the Staples, where it nests in holes burrowed out in the 

 peaty soil by the birds, and in which it deposits its one 

 egg, which is white in colour. Young puffins are mere 

 balls of black down. It also breeds on the North and 

 South Wamses. The puffin is also known by the name 

 of parrot, on account of its parrot-like beak, and also as 

 Tammy-norie. In many parts of the world, notably St. 

 Kilda and Iceland, puffins are eaten in great numbers by 

 the inhabitants. 



The Guillemot {Una troile), also called scoot, deposits 

 its one egg, which varies immensely in colour, markings, 

 and size, on the bare rock, and on the Fames is almost 

 entirely confined to the Pinnacles — four flat-topped rocks, 

 each some twenty to thirty feet square, separated by a 

 chasm about twenty feet wide from the Staples. The tops 

 of the Pinnacles during the breeding season are literally 

 covered with about as many guillemots as can find stand- 

 ing room, each bird brooding its single egg. A few 

 razorbills also occur, along with guillemots. The 

 Pinnacles are amongst the best places in Great Biitain 

 or Ireland for studying the habits of the guillemots at 

 short range (i.e., about twenty feet) distance. 



