GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILL, ETC. 129 
upon the land after the young have quitted their 
birthplaces ; they spend their entire time upon the 
sea, seeking shelter during rough weather in bays 
or under the lee of headlands, but not unfrequently 
great numbers perish in a gale, their dead bodies 
strewing the coast where the tide has cast them 
ashore. Except during the breeding season the 
Guillemot flies very little, but during that period it 
often feeds far from its rocky haunts, and may then 
be seen, especially at eventide, flying in little 
bunches, or in compact flocks, swiftly and silently 
just above the waves, returning to them. The 
food of this bird is almost exclusively composed of 
fish, especially such small species as pilchards and 
sprats; it is also extremely partial to the fry of 
the herring and the pollack. Few birds are more 
expert at catching fish than the Guillemot ; it dives 
after them, and chases them beneath the surface 
with marvellous speed and unerring certainty. In 
this chase of fish it sometimes comes to grief by 
getting entangled in the drift-nets. The Guillemot 
is a remarkably silent bird. I have repeatedly 
been amongst thousands of these birds, both at sea 
and on the rock stacks where they breed, and the 
only sound I have ever heard them utter is a low, 
grunting noise. My experience has been chiefly 
confined to the earlier part of the breeding season, 
and the autumn and winter months. It would 
appear, though, that when the young are partly 
grown the birds become more noisy, for Gatke 
I 
