484 ALCIDAS 
Voice.—The soft murmuring note is rather peculiar and 
not unmusical ; it may be heard in a broken chorus at the 
breeding-stations. The piteous cry of the young is two- 
syllabled and sounds like wéllock-willock. 
Food.—In autumn, between August and October, the 
adults, accompanied by their offspring, may be seen scattered 
over the sea at no great distance from the coast, following 
the ‘schools’ of small fishes upon which they mainly 
Fig. 58.—COMMON GUILLEMOT. 
subsist. Crabs are also taken in minor quantities. In 
November but few Guillemots are seen fishing near our 
shores, and by December the birds are probably scattered 
far and wide over the boundless main. 
Nest.—Guillemots assemble on the cliffs much about the 
same time of year as Razorbills. Along the southern coasts 
of the British Isles they may appear as early as the first 
week in February; in the more northern districts they do 
not land at their rocky homes until a month or so later. 
