396 DIVERS. 



on the still more dreary coasts of Spitzbergen. In the hyper- 

 boreal seas and straits of America it also abounds, from the 

 inclement shores of Melville Island down to Hudson Bay 

 and Labrador. According to Mr. Audubon it also breeds on 

 the isle of Grand Menan, in the Bay of Fundy. Like the 

 other Guillemots, these birds are entirely marine, never going 

 inland, and rarely seek the coast but for the indispensable pur- 

 pose of reproduction. In the cold and desolate regions of 

 the North, abandoned by nearly every other animal, the Guille- 

 mots, though in diminished numbers, find means to pass the 

 winter; frequenting at such times the pools of open water, 

 which occur even in these high latitudes amongst the floes of 

 ice. Others, but in small numbers, and those probably bred 

 in lower latitudes, venture in the winter along the coasts of 

 the United States. In Europe they are also seen at this sea- 

 son along the borders of the Atlantic. They are alike indig- 

 enous to the western side of the American continent, and 

 occur in Kamtschatka. At St. Kilda, on the Bass Isle, in the 

 Firth of Forth, in the Fame Islands, off the coast of Northum- 

 berland, and on some parts of the coast of Wales, particularly 

 near Tenby, they are known to breed. 



They fly commonly in pairs with considerable rapidity, al- 

 most grazing the surface of the sea, but at other times they 

 proceed in a more elevated course. Their note, according to 

 Audubon, is a contracted whistle. They nestle sometimes 

 under ground, but more commonly in the deep and rocky 

 fissures of inaccessible cliffs and bold headlands projecting into 

 the sea. To avoid the access of water to the eggs, they com- 

 monly pile together a nest of pebbles, beneath which the 

 rain-water or melting snow passes off without any injury or 

 inconvenience. To escape becoming the prey of the foxes 

 which incessantly watch for them, the young, when pushed to 

 the necessity, throw themselves without difficulty from their 

 impending eyries into the sea. These birds dive with great 

 facility, and feed upon small fish, but particularly on shrimps, 

 small crabs, and other Crustacea, and marine insects. They 

 show considerable vigilance on being approached, and are 



