AMONG THE SEA-BIRDS. 121 



finny prey under the surface with marvellous skill and 

 speed ; many Gulls beat lazily along, peering down in 

 quest of any food that may by chance be floating on the 

 waves ; whilst here and there a flock of Terns are 

 fluttering along in graceful flight above a shoal of fry 

 bird after bird dropping down like a stone into the water 

 to seize a tiny fish. Now and then a party of Cormorants 

 pass along in a great hurry close to the waves, with long 

 necks outstretched and wings beating rapidly ; and 

 occasionally a few Eider drakes in their conspicuous dress 

 of black and white pass more leisurely along to some 

 shingly beach where the big green waves are rolling in, 

 bringing with them a plentiful supply of food for these 

 beautiful birds. 



One of the most interesting features about the Fame 

 Islands is that every island contains something fresh 

 no two of them are inhabited by precisely the same 

 species ; so that as we visit one after the other of them 

 in turn we are charmed with a splendid ever-changing 

 panorama of vivid scenes from bird life. One island is 

 the head-quarters of the Sandwich Tern ; another shelters 

 the Common and the Arctic Terns ; whilst a third is 

 principally occupied by Puffins and Lesser Black-backed 

 Gulls, although the latter species is found more or less 

 abundantly in every part of the group. Another island 

 is where the Eider Ducks breed, and the steepest rocks 

 are sacred to Guillemots and Kittiwakes ; whilst the 



