50 
piled at the base of the island, and also on a part of the grassy 
slopes about half way towards its summit. The young are fed, 
for the most part, on sand eels, quantities of which are brought 
by the old birds to the burrows—each having from six to eleven 
of these fishes at a time. These are often procured at a consider- 
able distance from the rock, as any one accustomed to make 
repeated visits to that celebrated breeding place may easily testify 
by observing the puffins, many miles away from it, rise from the 
water and steer straight homewards, with their bills quite full. 
The male of this bird is said to have a larger bill than the female; 
and with the view of ascertaining whether the former took part 
in the duties of incubation, we turned over upwards of 500 dead 
ones during the occasion of our last visit, but found not more 
than half-a-dozen large billed specimens in that number. These 
puffins had been taken out of the nets in the course of three days’ 
fowling, and in many of the burrows we found eggs and newly- 
hatched young birds—the former in many instances being addled, 
and the latter dead. Mr Gray has elsewhere dwelt on the habits 
of the puffin in this locality. * 

THE RAzORBILL (Alcea torda). 
A very common species on Ailsa Craig in the breeding time, 
and also a native of the Scaur Rocks in Luce Bay. In September, 
1859, a very extraordinary mortality occurred among the sea 
fowl of the Craig, which was largely shared in by this species. 
A number of razorbills are taken annually by the Girvan fisher- 
men when drawing their nets, which are sometimes floated within 
a mile or two of the rocks. 
PELECANIDA. 
THE Common CormoRANT (Phalacrocorax carbo). 
The gaunt figure of this well-known bird is seldom wanting on 
our sea beacons and isolated rocks within a short distance of the 
shore. At any season the cormorant is nowhere more abundant 
than along the shores of Wigtcwnshire, especially that part of the 
coast between Glenluce and Port-Willam, where fifty or sixty are 
constantly seen, either fishing, in the winter months, or, in sum- 
mer, drying their wings preparatory to their inland flight. Their 
* See “ Birds of the West of Scotland.” 
