PUFFIN. 343 



our British birds, its curiously shaped and gaudy 

 coloured beak of various hues as it sits upright upon 

 a rock or clifP giving it a most comical and grotesque 

 appearance ; the general colour of its upper parts is 

 black, there is also a black ring round the neck, but 

 the cheeks and forehead are grey ; the general colour 

 of the under parts is white. 



The Puffin is a restless bird, incessantly moving 



its body and turning its head when on land ; it is also 

 an expert diver, plunging from its perch into the waves 

 head first, and if escaping from an enemy by this 

 means it will swim very fast beneath the surface, 

 spreading its wings and literally flying under water 

 for a long distance. Its flight through the air, though 

 its wings are small, is also very rapid. These birds 



