272 OUR RARER BIRDS 



Eazorbills every year. Both parents help to incubate the 

 solitary egg, but I do not think one ever feeds the other on 

 the cliffs. 



The egg of the Eazorbill is a very handsome one, and 

 subject to considerable variation in size, shape, and markings. 

 In ground colour they exhibit every tint between pure white 

 and reddish-brown, and the blotches and spots vary from 

 dark liver-brown to grayish-brown. The markings are very 

 bold and decided and large — most numerous round the broad 

 end of the ^^^g^ where they often form an irregular zone. On 

 some eggs many streaky lines occur ; and in rare instances 

 you may find one very sparingly marked with colour. The 

 naturalist must bear in mind that the eggs of the Eazorbill 

 never exhibit even the faintest tinge of green externally; but 

 when held up to the light the inside of the shell displays a 

 strong tinge of clear pea-green — a characteristic, by the way, 

 which will enable him readily to distinguish them from those 

 eggs of the Guillemot which approach most closely in colour 

 to those of the Eazorbill. 



The Eazorbill only rears one young bird in a season, 

 which either remains on the rocks till it is able to fly, or is 

 carried down to the sea by its parent shortly after it is 

 hatched. It would be profoundly interesting were we able 

 to discover the subtle law which governs the birth of male or 

 female birds in this species. So far as we can see, the sexes 

 are about equal in numbers, yet each pair of birds only pro- 

 duce one male or female chick each year. When the young 

 are safely reared the Eazorbills desert their rocky home and 

 disperse over the sea in every direction in quest of their food, 

 rarely visiting the shore at all. After severe gales in autumn 

 and winter I have known hundreds of these birds to be 

 washed up by the tide drowned, but the storm must be a 

 violent one indeed to render the sea too rough for the buoyant, 

 sturdy Eazorbill. 



