352 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



In winter the head and nape are white, speckled 

 with brown ; the back barred with black and 

 white ; the under parts grayish-white. 



The puffin is common on all the more rocky 

 portions of the British and Irish coasts. During 

 heavy weather many of these birds are driven 

 inland, unable to withstand the force of the gales. 

 I have seen specimens which have been thus 

 driven miles inland in Hampshire, and also on the 

 Wiltshire downs ; and numerous instances are 

 annually recorded of their being picked up either 

 dead or in an exhausted condition at distances far 

 more remote from the sea-coast. The bill of the 

 puffin is peculiar, being short, thick, and with 

 both the upper and lower portions equally arched 

 and grooved with orange colour. In summer 

 plumage the crown, nape, and neck are black ; 

 the chin and sides of the head white ; the under 

 parts white, with a black collar round the neck ; 

 the upper part of the back and wings dark grayish- 

 brown ; the lower part of the back and tail 

 black ; the legs are orange- coloured. In winter 

 the bill is smaller and without the orange colour 

 visible in the summer plumage, the base of the 

 bill being shed in the autumn. The length of 

 this bird averages twelve inches. 



The little auk, a winter visitor to Britain, is 

 more frequently met with on the Northern coasts, 

 though from time to time some storm-beaten speci- 

 men is found in more Southern localities. The bill 

 is short, thick, and broad at the base. In summer 



