THE BIRDS OF BEMPTON CLIFFS. 1$. 



slightly down towards the water, where, if it commenced 

 to & roll, it must inevitably fall. (2) Constant observation 

 and enquiry have failed to elicit any instance of an egg 

 revolving on its own axis, and so escaping destruction, the 

 surface of the ledges, as viewed by the climber who stands 

 upon them, being so uneven as almost to prevent such 

 movement. (3) The close attendance of the parent bird 

 is an additional safeguard, because she rarely leaves the 

 egg except when scared by foes. (4) In the months of 

 June and July, when incubation is proceeding, violent gales 

 are infrequent, and as a practical climber of many years' 

 experience, I find that what may be a high wind at the cliff 

 top is not felt below — as soon as the climber leaves the edge 

 of the cliff he reaches a region of calm, where he is shielded 

 from the fury of the wind, apparently by an air buffer cover- 

 ing the face of the rock, from which the force of the gale 

 rebounds, leaving its cccupants unharmed. (5) On the 

 Fames, where eggs are laid on the top of an unsheltered 

 stack of rock, there is no recorded observation of their being 

 blown about by the wind, nor has this open position pro- 

 duced any special modification in the shape of the egg, which 

 exactly resembles those laid in sheltered places. 



The colours of the Guillemot's egg vary more than in. 

 those of any other bird. The general type is a greeny blue 

 with streaks and splotches of black. Next in point of 

 numbers is a white egg with black streaks and blotches. 

 The rest have no definite scheme of colouration, but show 

 every shade of red from the lightest "rusty" to deepest 

 chocolate-red, whilst brown, fawn, buff, stone colour, blue,- 

 green, yellow, and violet, combine in endless shades and 

 varieties of marking, spots, blotches, and scrawls, to make 

 a bewildering display, the richness of which almost dazzles 

 the beholder. The varieties of size and shape are also extra- 

 ordinary. No cliffs are so famous for producing these 

 varieties as our own. 



That portion of the cliff climbed by Edward Hodgson's 

 gang is more famed for these rich-coloured varieties than 

 any other, which he attributes to its being less thoroughly 

 "climbed out" than the others, partly owing to the number 

 of odd corners which are not worth visiting, and partly to his 

 ceasing to climb sooner than the other gangs. The effect 

 of this is also seen in his birds laying, on the average, a 

 week earlier than those on other parts of the cliff. 



The Razor-Bill's egg is not so richly marked as that 

 of the Guillemot, the blue and green types being absent 



