THE PUFFIN AND THE PENGUINS. 



477 



really looks as if it had been originally made for some much larger 

 bird. Owing to the dimensions and shape of the beak, it is often called 

 the Sea Parrot or the Coulterneb. 



The Puffin can fly rapidly and walk tolerably, but it dives and swims 

 supremely well, chasing fish in the water, and often bringing out a whole 

 row of sprats at a time ranged along the sides of its bill, all the heads 

 being within the mouth and all the tails dangling outside. It breeds 

 upon the rocks and in the rabbit-warrens near the sea, finding the 

 ready-made bur- 

 rows of the rab- 

 bit very conveni- 

 ent for the recep- 

 tion of its eggs, 

 and fighting with 

 the owner for 

 possession of the 

 burrow. Where 

 rabbits do not 

 exist the Puffin 

 digs its own bur- 

 row, and works 

 hard at its labor. 

 The egg is gen- 

 erally placed sev- 

 eral feet within 

 the holes, and 

 the parents de- 

 fend it vigorous- 

 ly. Even the ra- 

 ven makes little 

 by an attack, for 

 the Puffin grips 

 his foe as he best 

 can, and tries to 

 tunible into the 



sea, where the raven is soon drowned, and the little champion returns 

 home in triumph. The egg is whit^, but soon becomes stained by the 

 earth. The food of this bird consists of fish, crustaceans, and insects. 



The top of the head, the back, and a ring round the neck are black, 

 and the cheeks and under surfaces are white. The beak is curiously 

 striped with orange upon bluish gray, and the legs and toes are orange. 

 The length of this bird is about one foot. 



The Penguins form a very remarkable sub-family, all its members 

 having their wings modified into paddles useless for flight, but capable 



The Puffin {Fratercula arctica). 



