120 THE LIFE OF A BIRD. 



the appearance of a stratum of stone. The eggs 

 are so close together, that it is difficult to move 

 amongst them ; and the surface of the rock being 

 whitened over by the excrement of the birds, the 

 blue eggs especially have a peculiarly beautiful 

 appearance. At a short distance is a low, flat 

 rock, which the cormorants are in the habit of re- 

 sorting to ; but though the situation is altogether 

 different from that usually selected by the guille- 

 mots, they occasionally lay a few eggs among the 

 thickest ranks of the cormorants, having a singu- 

 larly ludicrous appearance amidst their taller 

 neighbours, as they sit bolt upright upon their 

 lofty nests. 



The eggs of the guillemot are placed upon the 

 bare rock without any nest, and, indeed, without 

 anything to prevent their being swept into the sea 

 by the stormy winds which rage around these 

 islands. The ledges on which they are placed by 

 these foolish birds are often so narrow, that the 

 young ones, when hatched, can scarcely fail of 

 dropping down and being dashed to pieces on the 

 sharp rocks, or drowned in the foaming waters be- 

 low. When the guillemot has deposited its egg, 

 which is very large, it is often left exposed to all 



