FRATERCULA. 



363 



The Puffins may at once be distinguished from the Auks by the facts 

 that the feathers at the base of the bill do not extend as far as the nostrils^ 

 and that the bill is provided with one or more sheath-like structures of an 

 orange-red colour^ which appear in spring and are shed in autumn. 



Only nine species are known to belong to this geuus^ which may be re- 

 garded as circumpolar^ though most of the species are confined to the Pacific 

 shores of the Arctic regions. 



The Puffins are almost exclusively oceanic birds^ only frequenting the 

 coasts to breed. They are gregarious at all times of the year. Their 

 mode of flight resembles that of the Ducks^ their short wings being moved 

 with great rapidity, and the line of direction being generally straight, with 

 no perceptible undulations. They swim with ease and are very expert divers. 

 Their food is principally fish. Their notes, which are seldom uttered, are 

 harsh. Their single egg is laid either under rocks or in holes burrowed in 

 the soft ground, and but little nest is formed. Their eggs are dull white, 

 indistinctly spotted with brown and grey. 



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