THE PUFFIN. 291 



peopled from top to bottom with thousands of grave- 

 looking birds, while others are soaring and screaming 

 about them is a very singular sight. The vast numbers 

 of these birds surprise us, too, when we remember that 

 each pair lays but a single egg. And such is also the 

 case with the Penguins of the south, and with several 

 other kinds of social birds. Nature has given them this 

 limited power of multiplication, and has not exempted 

 them from the usual number of enemies and accidents 

 and their enemies, besides man, are many yet the race 

 goes on still increasing. Is it their good temper or their 

 stolidity that favours increase in this extraordinary 

 degree ? The young birds soon leave the rock, and, 

 long before they can fly, are found swimming in the 

 sea below, diving and catching fish like their parents. 

 Fishermen assert* that the young Guillemot, when about 

 to leave the rock, climbs on the back of its mother, and 

 is by her carried down to the water. The Puffin, or 

 Sea-parrot (Fratercula arctica) is a round, little, black- 

 and-white bird, with a singular parrot-shaped beak, 

 ribbed with orange. It frequents the same sort of places 

 as the Guillemot, and its habits are similar, except that 

 it does not expose its egg without protection. Where it 

 finds holes or crevices ready-made to its use, it helps 

 itself freely to them, and will even disperse rabbits, 

 driving them out of their burrows. But when no holes 

 are to be found, the male bird makes a burrow to the 

 depth of three or four feet, digging out the ground with 

 his strong bill. In this burrow is laid the solitary egg, 

 which is hatched after a month's incubation. 

 * Vide Waterton. 



