THE GUILLEMOTS, DIVE11S, AND GREBES. 291 



This is interesting, as I never knew of any bird before, 

 either north or south of the equator, that tackled a full- 

 grown barnacle and came off alive. On the Cornish coast, 

 where the guillemot, or "murr," is found in abundance, it 

 will seek the company of fishing-boats for the sake of the 

 scraps of ground-bait (vernacular, " guffin ") thrown over- 

 board ; and I have known one paddle round my boat in 

 this way for hours together. It is often caught in the 

 stake-nets, and so many were recently destroyed in this 

 way off the Fowlsheugh, near Stonehaven, that the Gov- 

 ernment was petitioned to cancel the lease of the nets, 

 and did so. Egg, 3^ inches (the female is only about 

 1 6 inches !) ; pear-shaped and green, white, or stone-colour, 

 with black or brown blotches and lines. 



BriinnicKs Guillemot. A rare straggler from Polar 

 regions. 



The Black Guillemot, with the conspicuous white patch 

 on the back of the wings, is found breeding on the Isle of 

 Black Man, also among the Orkneys, Shetlands, and 

 Guillemot. Hebrides (where it is known as the " Turtle- 

 dove"), and on rocky parts of the northern portion of 

 Ireland. In other parts of these islands it is seen only 

 very rarely, in winter. Unlike the other guillemots, this 

 bird lays two eggs. Eggs, 2, 2^3 inches; bluish-white, 

 with brown blotches. 



t Little The Little Auk, an uncommon winter visitor 

 Auk - to our north and east coasts, is a small black- 

 and-white bird, with stout bill and a white spot over the 

 eye. 



The Puffin, " Sea -parrot," or "Culterneb," is a little 

 black-and-white bird, the most remarkable feature of 

 which is unquestionably the bill, for, instead 



i 



of putting on smarter courting plumage, it 

 grows a larger bill at breeding-time, and that protuber- 



