Cliff-Birds, andtJieir Colonies. 95 



have a chance of exploring these 

 burrows. 



I don't think he did the birds any 

 harm at least, I never saw him in- 

 jure one bodily but he must have 

 been an awful trial to Puffin nerves. 



He would dash into holes, and 

 after sundry subterranean sounds of 

 groaning and scuffling, would come 

 racing out again a yard or two from 

 where he had entered, with half a 

 dozen birds dangling about him. 

 No Puffin, once aroused to anger, 

 ever thinks of quitting its hold, and 

 it was an absurd sight to see that 

 shaggy-coated Syke enjoying the fun 

 of rolling himself free. 



But what was fun to him could 

 scarcely have been enjoyment to the 

 Puffins ; so he was rarely allowed to 

 go near the cliffs at breeding times. 



The multitude of birds at Canna 

 outnumbers all calculation. At sun- 

 set, when the day's fishing is over, 

 and the parents have come to rest 



