132 BIRDS OF ICELAND 



Fratercula arctica (Linn.). Puffin. 



Native name : ' Lundi ' (whence our Lund-y = ' ey '). 



Resident in large numbers, breeding in colonies on 

 turf-covered islands and stacks, and in cracks in sea- 

 cliffs ; in the former case the bird excavates a burrow, 

 at the end of which it deposits its single rough white 

 egg, faintly spotted and scribbled with grey-brown, and 

 21 inches long. 



The bird is grey-brown above, with a black cap and 

 ring round the neck ; sides of the face light grey, rest 

 of underparts white. Length 12 inches, wing 6 inches. 

 The bill is very large and of a grey colour, with several 

 yellow ridges and a bright red tip. In winter a large 

 horny sheath, which forms in summer the covering of 

 the base of the bill, is moulted off. Young birds are 

 smaller and duskier, and take some time to arrive at 

 their full size. 



The food is generally small fish, which the bird often 

 travels immense distances to find, also small oceanic 

 Crustacea and ' various.' Puffins are eaten a good deal 

 in Iceland. There is a special clause in the Close Time 

 Act on their behalf, prohibiting the use of nets and 

 guns for taking them ; the reason being that the young 

 birds flock together, and can be driven into nets 

 wholesale. At one time they, got quite scarce in the 

 Westmann Islands through these means. 



Herra Grondal relates a curious tale {Verzeiclmiss, 

 p. 367), hov7 it is possible in August and September to 



