A U K-, ,P U F F I N, Sec. 125 



greatly refernbles the former. The Auk, which breeds on the iflands of 

 Sr. Kilda, chiefly differs from the penguin in fizc and colour. It is 

 fmaller than a duck ; and the whole of the bread and belly, as far as the 

 middle of the throat, is white. The Guillemot is about the fame fize; 

 it differs from the auk, in having a longer, a flenderer, and a ftraighter 

 bill. The Scarlet-throated Diver may be diftinguifhed by its name; 

 and the Puffm or Coulterneb, which is, by its bill, one of the moft re- 

 markable birds we know. The bill is flat; its edge upwards; of a tri- 

 angular figure, ending in a fbarp point; the upper chap bent a little down- 

 ward, where joined to the head; a certain callous fubftance cncompaflcs 

 its bafe, as in parrots. It is of two colours; afh-coloured near the bafe, 

 and red towards the point. It has three furrows, or groves, impreffed ia 

 it; one in the livid part, two in the red. The eyes are fenced with a 

 protuberant fkin, of a livid colour; and they are grey or alh-coloured. 

 It is a fmall bird, not much bigger than a pigeon; when it once rifes, 

 it can continue its flight with greac celerity. 



The auk and guillemiOt, when they have once laid their fingle egg; 

 which is extremely large for their fize, fcldom forfake it until excluded. 

 The male, who is befl; furniflied for flight, feeds the female during this 

 interval ; and fo bare is the place where flie fits, that the egg would of- 

 ten roll down from the rock, did not the body of the bird fupport it. The 

 puffin, relying on its courage, and the ftrength of its bill, with which it 

 bites mofl: terribly, either makes or finds a hole in the ground, where to 

 lay and bring forth its young. 



At the latter end of March, or the beginning of April, come over a 

 troop of their fpies or harbingers, that flay two or three days, as it' were 

 to view and fearch out for their former fituations, and fee whether all be 

 well. This done, they depart; and about the beginning of May, return 

 again with the whole army of their companions. But if the feafon be 

 tempeftuous, they undergo incredible hardfliips; and are found, by hun- 

 dreds, cafl: away upon the fliores, lean and periflued with famine. 



The puffin, when it prepares for breeding, which always happens a few 

 days after its arrival, begins to fcrape up an hole in the ground, not far 

 from the fliore ; and when it has fome way penetrated the earth, it then 

 throws itfelf upon its back, and with bill and claws thus burrows inward, 

 till it has dug a hole with feveral windings and turnings, from eight to 

 ten feet deep. It particularly feeks to dig under a fl:one, where it ex- 

 pedts the greatefl: fecurity. In fome places, where rabbits breed, the puffin 

 ! difpofieflfes the rabbits, and not unlikely deftroys their young. Here young 



PaktIV. No. 27. X : puffins, 



