SIDE IvIGHTS ON BIRDS 



Terns drop in the same direct way, but recover 

 themselves almost instantly. Gulls for the 

 most part snatch their prey from the surface, but 

 cases have been given when they dive. Mi. J. 

 M. Campbell, who lived for many years on the 

 Bass Rock, states that the razorbills and puffins col- 

 lect supplies m a mannei peculiar to themselves. 



' ' They dive from the surface and each capture 

 is pinched agamst the roof of the mouth, and 

 held there by the barbed tongue, leaving the 

 mandibles fiee for the next capture, till the bill 

 is strung from base to tip with the silvery spoil. 



"The straight pointed bill of the guillemot, 

 however, appears to admit of only one fish being 

 carried at a time : consequently each capture 

 unless required for immediate consumption neces- 

 sitates a journey to the hungiy youngster on the 

 nesting ledge. These single fish are always 

 carried lengthways in the bill, the head inside 

 and the tail protruding and are generally seveial 

 times larger than those carried by the razorbills 

 and puffins." 



It is surprising how easily a guillemot can 

 move in a limited space. We recently placed 

 one in a tank in a greenhouse where its out- 

 stretched wings touched either side. Yet it 

 glided without apparent effort round the corners 

 and its cramped quarters caused no diminution 

 of speed. 



The skuas make no attempt to catch fish 

 themselves : their habit is to circle round and 

 round gulls and terns and force them to drop 

 their captures. A predatory practice of this 

 kind has been noted by a correspondent in the 

 " Scotsman " in regard to the black-headed gull. 



He states that he saw a number of these birds 

 hovering round the place where a party of scoters 



56 



