The Sea-birds’ Nursery 
them with a loop at the end of a fishing- 
rod, while the birds are sitting about in 
groups on the rocks as they are so fond 
of doing. The noose is then dropped 
quietly over the head of first one bird 
and then another, and their bodies soon 
fill a large bag carried by the bird fisher- 
man. The deed is done so quietly and 
cleverly that the birds are not alarmed 
as they would be at the report of a gun. 
The curious part of it is that they allow 
the man to approach closely enough. But 
I know from my own experience that it is 
quite possible to creep up to within a few 
yards of them without causing any alarm. 
They are, I should say, the most 
comical-looking of all our native birds, 
and have the most curious beaks, very 
large, very thin, and very brilliantly 
coloured ; but with these funny beaks 
286 
