514 THE BLACK GUILLEMOT. 



mark, the eggs were hid away; and the sitting bird was, for 

 the most part, entirely out of sight. Had it not been for 

 my genial friend, John Crowell, and his fine Newfoundland 

 dogs, I should have seen but little of the nesting of these 

 elegant birds. As we scrambled along the immense ridge 

 of water-worn rocks, now high above the sea, the dogs 

 would every now and then halt and sniff eagerly among 

 the boulders. This sign Mr. C. understood full well, and 

 at once he would begin to roll away the rocks. Presently 

 the trim, shy bird could be seen covering her two eggs on 

 the sand or pebbles, and seemingly too much abashed to 

 make much effort to get away. About the size of a small 

 hen, 12-15 inches long, including the neck and bill, beauti- 

 fully black, glossed with green and purple, with a large white 

 spot in the wing-coverts, and webbed feet bright red this 

 is a most beautiful and gentle bird of the sea. Its form is 

 something like that of the smaller Grebes or Divers. In 

 winter it loses the bright red on the feet, and becomes 

 nearly white, merely retaining gray and dusky shades about 

 the upper parts. When perched on the rocks, it stands 

 almost upon end like a bottle; in spring it has a soft 

 plaintiff note, like kee-a, kee-a. The flight is low over the 

 water, straightforward and rapid. Like the rest of its 

 tribe, it feeds on small species of marine life. The eggs, 

 oval in form, 2. 00-2. 38 x 1.24-1.56, are delicate light-green 

 or greenish-white, specked, spotted, and blotched all over, 

 but especially at the large end, where there is sometimes a 

 wreath or continuous blotch, with dark-brown or black, and 

 pale lilac. This species breeds from Grand Menan and 

 Nova Scotia northward, and extends along the New Eng- 

 land coast in winter. 



The Common or Foolish Guillemot, or Merre (Loinria 

 troile), similar in form to the latter, except that the bill curves 



