IN THE SHETLANDS 173 
it voraciously. Directly afterwards the white-eyed 
bird, for the first time that I have yet seen, flies from 
the ledge into the sea, but too far off for me to watch. 
The other one remains, but he does not seem ready 
with his wing. The chick makes several attempts to 
take sanctuary, but they are not responded to, so he is 
reduced to standing and preening himself, the father 
standing just behind him, between him and the sea. 
At last, however, he forces himself under the wing, 
but it hangs over him awkwardly, not clasping him at 
all, and very shortly—in less than a minute—he 
comes out again. 
A well-grown young shag now, distinguishable only 
by its brownness, is fed on the rocks by the old bird. 
The manner of it is just the same as when on the 
nest. It flaps its wings the whole time it is being fed, 
as young rooks do, and the parent at last shakes it off 
and flies down into the sea. I cannot follow these 
shags for any distance under the water. They seem 
to strike deep from the moment they plunge, and the 
way they plunge, indeed, suggests this ; but guille- 
mots often swim for a long time, not far below the 
surface. Contradicted again! to my very face, by 
some shags in the pool here. They have swum quite 
like the guillemots in this respect. Birds are some- 
times very rude. 
The eyed guillemot has now been absent for two 
hours, and all this time the chick has sat or stood with 
the other parent by him, but not under his wing, nor 
have I seen any further attempt on his part to get 
