268 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



shore, many appear to journey south, but a spell of rough weather 

 brings some, mostly immature, hungry and wave battered, and 

 casts them dying on the beach. I have caught birds in shallow 

 shore pools, apparently too feeble to fly, which showed no sign 

 of injury. The note of the bird is a chattering growl, at times 

 deep and angry in tone, at times shrill and querulous ; from it 

 the name " Murre" is derived, though this conveys little to most 

 ears. 



On most coasts the Guillemot is more abundant than the 

 Razorbill, and in favoured haunts, such as the chalk cliffs of 

 Bempton and Flamborough, the rugged headlands of Wales, 

 and the stacks and crags of Scotland, its numbers are beyond 

 all calculation. Long rows of white-breasted birds sit upright 

 on the ledges at dizzy heights, those sitting eggs usually with 

 their front to the cliff, but the others, well upright, rest on the 

 tarsus, the toes bent over the lip of the ledge, and swing their 

 snaky necks from side to side. On the Fames the flat tops of the 

 Pinnacles are crowded with birds (Plate 121), but the brown mass 

 is constantly in motion, disturbed by the arrival of newcomers 

 who fight for foothold, whilst a stream drops off to fish. When 

 leaving the ledge neither Guillemot nor Razorbill habitually 

 dives seaward as frequently depicted and described, but flies 

 off maintaining a more or less horizontal position. The head 

 and tail are depressed, the arched back is held highest by the 

 whirring wings ; the bird floats outward and downward, gliding 

 obliquely forward. No nest is made ; the single large pyriform 

 egg lies on bare rock, often on a ledge which slopes dangerously 

 seaward. The idea that its shape allows it to twist round in 

 the wind is exploded, as is the egg when a careless sitter sends 

 it hurtling to the rocks beneath ; the frequent struggles for the 

 rights of a ledge lead to many catastrophes ; I have seen the 

 rocks at the foot of the cliff yellow with yolks. 



Only one type of egg can be shown (Plate 117), but the 

 variation is endless ; the gi-ound may be white, cream, yellow, 



