GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILL, ETC. 137 
more than half below the surface when apparently 
alarmed. Black Guillemots may often be seen 
in strings, flying to and from a distant feeding 
place, hurrying along close to the water, their 
short wings beating rapidly, and rendered very 
conspicuous by the broad white bar. The food 
of this Guillemot is largely composed of the 
fry of the herring and the coal-fish, but other 
small fishes are eaten, as are crustaceans, and 
various marine insects. I have never heard the 
Black Guillemot utter a sound beyond a low 
erunting ; but its note has been described as a 
whining sound, that of the young birds being more 
shrill. In chasing its finny prey under the water 
the Black Guillemot displays astonishing powers, 
darting to and fro, aided by its wings and feet. 
During winter these birds wander southwards, 
and then they may sometimes be seen off our 
more frequented coasts. 
The Black Guillemot retires to its breeding- 
stations in May. These are situated, in our islands, 
on rocky headlands and islands, and on ocean 
cliffs. Here its colonies are never very large, 
and often much scattered. It very probably pairs 
for life, and resorts often to one particular spot 
year after year. The bird deposits its eggs in 
a hole or cranny of the cliffs, occasionally in the 
clefts amongst fallen rocks at the foot of the 
precipice, or on rock-strewn downs sloping to the 
sea. It makes no nest, and the eggs rest upon 
