THE BIRDS OF BEMPTON CLIFFS. 9 



time. At irregular intervals these visits are repeated, gene- 

 rally taking place at high-tide time, and in calm weather, 

 when the birds appear almost as thick on some ledges as 

 in June, but are silent. None but the Guillemot ever comes 

 to the cliff in winter. Late in April the birds begin to take 

 up their abode permanently on the cliff, and early in May 

 the first eggs are laid, the Razor Bill being slightly before 

 the Guillemot in commencing. The average time for eggs 



Fig. 4. — Guillemots on Hateley Shoot. 



is from the third week in May to the commencement of July. 

 The earliest eggs of which I have any record were seen on 

 •6th May, and from then till about the second week in July 

 eggs may be seen. The latest date I have taken an egg 

 is 17th July. If, however, the egg be taken, a second and 

 even a third is sometimes laid, three being the outside 

 number, and only one being produced at each laying. The 

 second egg is frequently more brilliantly coloured than the 

 first. An impression prevails among some writers that a 

 second egg may be produced within a week if the first is 



