MODERN CLIFF-DWELLERS 



as the egg-shells produced by all these birds that 

 lay on the bare rock are of flinty hardness a won- 

 derful provision of Nature. 



There is a nice colony of some seventy-five 

 pairs or more of these birds, along with many hun- 

 dreds of the Arctic Tern, also on " Matinicus 

 Rock," which locality I shall describe in another 

 chapter. Here the Guillemots nest in great crevices 

 or clefts of the main body of the rock and under 

 separate boulders. Along with them are a few 

 pairs of Puffins, this being their southernmost 

 breeding-ground on the Atlantic coast. Strangely 

 enough, when I was there last, no one in the two 

 families on the little island had ever seen a Puffin's 

 egg, though they had often tried to find one. 

 There is no soil in which these " Sea Parrots " can 

 burrow, so they crawl in under the largest rocks, 

 and perhaps down under further layers, through 

 winding passages. Try my best, I, too, had to own 

 myself beaten in this search. 



During one of my visits to this island I saw an 

 albino "Black" Guillemot in the colony. At first 

 it was put in the water with a flock of its darker 

 brethren, acting and appearing just like the others, 

 except for its colour. Later my companion sur- 

 prised it sitting upon the rocks. It flew from a 

 spot only a few feet from him, giving him a splen- 

 did view, particularly of its back. As far as he 

 could see, it was of a creamy white all over, save 

 for some gray markings on the back. Anxious 

 to secure this remarkable specimen, I borrowed 

 a gun from one of the Keepers, and went in search 

 of it, without, however, being able to catch sight 



89 



