366 BRITISH BIRDS. 



expression give it an absurdly comical appearance. It is very tame^ 

 allowing a boat or steamer almost to pass over it ere it dives in an instant 

 from view, reappearing at a little distance to watch the approaching 

 stranger. Even wlien fired at it shows very little fear, and, in spite of the 

 warning conveyed by a fallen comrade, numbers will return to the same 

 piece of rock which was vacated at the report of the gun. The Puffin sits 

 upright, resting on the foot and tarsus, but it does not walk on its tarsus, 

 as the Guillemot and Razorbill do. 



The food of the Puffin is principally composed of small fish and the fry 

 of the larger ones, especially of that of the herring and the coal-fish. 

 In addition to this fare, it also catches marine insects, and often dives 

 to the bottom of the sea in search of mollusks. Like the Guillemot, 

 the Puffin often goes a long distance to feed, sometimes, it is said, fifty 

 miles or more, visiting a favourable locality, remaining all day, and re- 

 turning in the evening to its distant colony. Bunches of Puffins may 

 often be seen flying swiftly along just above the surface of the sea, on 

 their way to and from a favourite feeding-ground. It is often met with 

 at a considerable distance from land, sitting unconcernedly on the water, 

 but usually diving instantly at the approach of a boat. As a rule, 

 the Puffin is remarkably silent. Even in colonies that are composed 

 of tens of thousands of birds, little noise is to be heard beyoud the 

 humming of the myriad pinions striking the air at once. Its note is a 

 grating noise, usually uttered when the bird is taken in the hand, and 

 varies from o-r-r to a-r-r, as the bird is angry or pleased, and almost 

 becomes a purr when the old bird is feeding the young. 



The breeding-season of the Puffin commences early in May. By the 

 end of April the birds are busy at work excavating a new hole or over- 

 hauling that of the previous year, and a week or ten days afterwards the 

 single egg is laid. Puffins breed in colonies, sometimes only composed of 

 a score or so of birds, but very often of a score or more thousands. Low 

 flat islands covered with turf, rocky islets (as the Bass and Ailsa Craig), 

 or bold headlands (as those of Flamborough) are the jjlaccs usually 

 selected. Sometimes, however, it takes up its quarters in a rabbit- 

 warren, breeding in the deserted burrows ; and at others it rears 

 its young amongst the clefts and crannies of the cliffs or under the 

 thickly strewn rock-fragments. Both birds assist in making the burrow ; 

 but the male, it is said, performs the largest share of the work. 

 When the colony is on a clifl", the holes are usually burrowed in the soft 

 soil near the top, and in other places on the grassy slopes midway down 

 the side of the rock. The holes vary considerably in depth and size; 

 many birds breed close together, and sometimes two pairs will live in the 

 same burrow. There is a large colony of Puffins at the Fames : it is 

 situated on a low islet covered with turf to a depth, in some places, of two 



