FARNE ISLANDS AND THEIR BIRDS 199 



six inches high. A few of the nests contained young 

 birds, and ugly, black-skinned creatures they are, and 

 during the first fortnight of their existence they 



PUFFIN'S EGG AT ENTRANCE TO BURROW 



remain blind. They were in this stage when we saw 

 them. As we walked among them they tried to 

 stand up in the nests, craned their necks up, opened 

 their beaks, and swayed from side to side. I had 

 heard so much about the stench that surrounds 



