COMMON GUILLEMOT 485 
As already mentioned, it is on the exposed ledges of great 
perpendicular cliffs, also on the summits of huge rock- 
stacks, that multitudes mass together. Here these beauti- 
ful creatures present an imposing and picturesque spectacle. 
Their numbers, almost countless, are arranged, some as 
closely as a regiment at drill, others clustered into an 
irregular crowd at the summit of the stack, while low 
down, the face of the great headland appears more thinly 
populated. Many of the birds stand boldly upright, peer- 
ing round at the approach of an intruder. The hatching 
females face the cliffs, giving one the impression that they 
are crouching to elude observation. Yet this attitude is far 
from expressing fear; indeed, no bird is calmer, sits more 
closely, or displays greater affection for its young, than the 
Guillemot. The parent-bird will suffer one almost to handle 
her rather than relinquish her dearly-loved offspring. It is 
to prevent the great solitary egg from falling off the plat- 
form, that the mother-bird assumes this peculiar pose: the 
pointed end of each egg is clasped between her legs and 
feet, and the larger end pressed firmly against her lower 
breast-feathers, too short almost to cover it. 
Some of the ledges incline obliquely downwards, and on 
these especially the birds face the cliff. On less sloping 
platforms I have seen them sit sideways, and when the eggs 
are deposited on large, roomy, flat surfaces, many Guillemots 
may be seen hatching with their breasts facing the sea. The 
egos often get smashed, especially in densely-packed colonies. 
Birds huddled closely together on adjacent ledges at times 
enter into conflict, and as they wax hot in the struggle for 
supremacy, an egg or two is sent tumbling down the cliff. 
A sudden alarm, such as the report of a gun, will so terrify 
the birds that they may quit the cliffs before stepping free 
of their eggs, which are sometimes carried a yard or so 
from the ledge before being dropped from under the feet 
of the owners. 
I have seen some magnificent colonies of Guillemots 
around the Irish coast, but one of the finest is thus 
described by Mr. Ussher :—‘‘'The largest assemblage of 
Guillemots in Ireland is on the majestic limestone cliffs of 
Moher in Clare. These rise to 600 feet and their coast- 
line is indented, huge bastions affording points from which 
the next cliffs can be viewed. Their faces are stratified in 
bands of unequal durability, and have thus been worn into 
deep seams, leaving covered shelves and ledges, of which the 
