28, 



MAMMALS AND BIRDS OF THE ARCTIC 



pairs, the members of which tenderly caress each other and rub their necks 

 together as they sit side by side on the cliffs which have been inhabited by their 

 ancestors for ages. Nest there is none, the egg being laid on the bare rock. 

 Though always pear-shaped (to prevent them rolling off the ledges), the eggs vary 

 in colour more perhaps than those of any other bird, even the ground-colour 

 ranging from white through every shade of greenish blue. The so-called bridled 

 guillemot (U. ringvia) differs from the typical form by a ring round the eye 

 and a short white streak running from the latter across the temples ; but this 

 variation does not seem to entitle the birds to be regarded even as a distinct 

 race, much less a species, since they are found everywhere among the ordinary 



BRIDLED GUILLEMOTS. 



form and have no special habitat of their own. On the other hand, the some- 

 what larger Brunnich's guillemot (U. bruennichi) is a perfectly well-defined 

 species, easily recognised by the shortness of its beak. This bird is thoroughly 

 Arctic in its distribution, being known only as a straggler outside the Arctic Circle. 

 More distinct is the black guillemot (U. grylle), which lays two eggs instead 

 of one, and is smaller than the other kinds, measuring only about 13 inches in 

 length. In colour it is black with a white bar on the wing, and red feet. It 

 also flies lower than other guillemots, rarely rising more than a foot or so above the 

 water. It is likewise by far the best diver, its disappearance being instantaneous, 

 and its speed beneath the surface nearly as rapid as through the air. This 

 guillemot breeds on both sides of the Arctic Circle, but not farther south than 

 Ireland and Denmark. It passes the winter on the sea, rarely visiting the land, 

 and only occasionally strays far from its birthplace. 



