470 ALCIDA 
civorous, and sprats, carried diagonally in the beak, form 
the principal diet; I have also found abundance of crabs 
and shrimps in the stomachs of birds dissected. 
Nest.—During the month of March and the first part of 
April, Razorbills assemble at their breeding-homes on the 
cliffs. While abundant on many of the British headlands, 
this species is, perhaps on the whole, less numerous than 
the Guillemot, though in Ireland the breeding-places appear 
to be more numerous. With the Guillemot the Razorbill 
may be found in certain proportions, breeding on the bare 
faces of sheer, beetling cliffs, but, unlike the former, it 
resorts to the shelter of nooks, overhanging ledges, and less 
frequently to burrows. Vast colonies are usually formed in 
company with other sea-birds; yet small groups, and even 
odd pairs, breed in some districts at distances apart. A 
single egg, disproportionately large for the size of the owner, 
is laid towards the end of May. The ground-colour varies 
from white to creamy-brown, boldly blotched, streaked, and 
even zoned, with brown shading to purplish-black. Unlike 
the egg of the Guillemot, a light bluish or greenish ground- 
colour of the shell is very uncommon ; yet curiously enough 
the lining-membrane, seen when the empty shell is held up 
to the light, appears green, whereas that of the Guillemot 
is light yellowish. 
Both sexes incubate in turn, the male feeding the female 
when thus engaged. When hatching, the bird sits along 
not across its bulky egg. 
It is interesting to observe the way in which the parents 
convey their offspring to the sea before the latter are able 
to fly. This may be witnessed best about the last week in 
July. The birds then begin to leave the cliffs, and the 
young are apparently roughly treated, being jostled and 
pushed off their ledges; yet their fall is so broken as they 
tumble and scramble down the face of the cliff that they 
generally reach the water in safety. Indeed, the few which 
get injured in this way form an exceedingly small propor- 
tion of the numbers which might forfeit their lives to 
Falcons and other enemies, during their parents’ absence 
at sea, were they to remain longer on the cliffs. 
It is amusing to watch the bewildered expression of the 
1 T have not seen the parent seize the offspring by its neck and carry 
it down to the water, though this habit has been vouched for by some 
observers. 
