RAZOR-BILL. t09 



bill and conspicuous stripe from its base to the eye. It is 

 gregarious at all times of the year, and in some places literally 

 swarms. In summer it comes to the rocky headlands and 

 wild precipitous islets to rear its young ; but from its partiality 

 for clefts in the rocks rather than ledges, it is almost absent 

 from many places where the Guillemot breeds in great abun- 

 dance, as, for instance, the 'Pinnacles' in the Fame Islands. 

 The Razor-bill is most at home in the water, where it vies 

 even with the fish in activity and rapidity of movement. It 

 floats on the heaving waves, light and buoyant as a cork, sitting 

 well out of the water, its head and neck raised high above its 

 back, very similar to a Duck or a Diver. It swims with ease, 

 paddling at times very quickly, and often indulges in a frolic 

 in the sea, splashing about with its wings, chasing its com- 

 panions, and being chased by them in turn. It often sleeps on 

 the water, tossed about seemingly at the mercy of the waves, 

 but quite safe even in the roughest water. It is by no means 

 a shy bird, and frequently allows a boat or a vessel to approach 

 it within a few yards ere it takes wing or dives. Like the 

 Guillemot and the Puffin, it is an expert diver, vanishing from 

 view with great rapidity, leaving tiny air-bubbles to mark the 

 place of its descent. It dives for a considerable distance 

 below the surface, either in pursuit of a small fish or in search 

 of crustaceans and molluscs hiding in the crevices of the rocks 

 and amongst the seaweed at the bottom. The Razor-bill, in 

 spite of its narrow and comparatively small wings, flies well, 

 but does not rise very easily from the water, generally splash- 

 ing along for a few yards ere it gets well into the air. It never 

 appears to fly about like the Puffin, and when it leaves its 

 perch on the rocks generally darts headlong down into the sea, 

 and, when leaving the water, soon makes for the rocks again. 

 The flight is performed by rapid and incessant beatings of the 

 wings. The Razor-bill is a clumsy object on the land, and 

 very rarely attempts to walk far, progressing in a hobbling 

 kind of way. This bird often goes long distances to feed, and 

 then its flight can be seen to perfection, as the little troop of 

 birds, usually in single file, pass rapidly along just above the 

 surface of the waves. 



"The food of the Razor-bill is composed principally of small 

 fish, especially of the fry of the herring and the coal-fish ; these 



