IN THE SHETLANDS 301 
the bottom, the bird could no doubt pinch up the 
skin so as to get a secure hold of it. The various 
little tactile movements of the mandibles upon the 
fish, by which the latter would be first grasped 
between, and then passed carefully down them, to 
lie against the one last caught, can be pretty well 
imagined, and they could be very effectively aided by 
the rubbing or pressing of it, on either side, against 
the sand, rocks, stones, etc., of the bottom. It must 
be remembered, too, that the mandibles open like a 
scissors, so as to be wider apart at the tips than at 
the base, which would diminish the difficulty ; and 
moreover, each fish is so deeply indented by the sharp, 
cutting blades—which, however, do not seem to pierce 
the skin—that, although alive—reflecting possibly on 
the beauty of maternal affection—they would be likely 
to “cleave to their mould” like putty, for a little 
while after the pressure were relaxed. 
I think that the broad, blade-like bill of the puffin 
has to do with this power that the bird possesses of 
holding many fish at a time, and that the razorbill, 
whose beak is of the same type, and who bites the 
fish across in just the same way, is in the habit of 
doing so also. Be this as it may, the guillemot, 
whose bill is quite differently shaped, holds the fish, 
as a rule, in a different manner, longitudinally, namely, 
with the head towards the throat, and the tail droop- 
ing over to one side. This is not invariable ; but I 
have never myself seen a bird bring in more than one 
fish ata time. It is the same, I think, with the black 
