426 THE SOOTY PETREL. 



the extremities of which were invisible, that the infant birds 

 were kept in the back-ground ; and well they were so, for 

 otherwise, in the constant disturbances and tumblings inces- 

 santly taking place, the whole rising generation must 

 inevitably have broken their necks in the confusion, by 

 falling over before they were able to fly. But a greater 

 surprise was excited by perceiving, in the midst of the 

 bustle, a solitary egg here and there lying on the bare rock, 

 within a few inches of the edge. By what care or instinct 

 was it preserved from falling ? It has been said, that if 

 they are removed by a human hand, it is impossible, or at 

 least extremely difficult, to replace them in their former 

 situation ; whence it has been inferred, that they are glued 

 by some secret cement to the rock. Some of our ablest 

 naturalists, however, doubt this ; but if it is not so, the 

 mystery is rather increased than lessened for they are in a 

 most hazardous position ; but they are preserved, though by 

 what means we have yet to learn. 



The Razor-bills were by no means so numerous as the 

 Guillemots, and, generally speaking, did not mix with them ; 

 seeming to hold themselves apart as the better bird of the 

 two, peering at one another, and pluming their coats with a 

 sort of dandy satisfaction at their superior brilliancy and 

 glossiness. 



Besides these more common species, there are others, rarely 

 found in Britain, being chiefly confined to the colder and 

 more inhospitable regions of the northern or southern divi- 

 sions of the globe, where they epdst in numbers almost 

 surpassing our powers of computation. One species in 

 particular, the little Auk, or Greenland Dove (Alca alle), 

 Sir Edward Parry met with by millions, when the ships got 

 amongst the ice in particular spots, and they were killed for 

 sea provisions. But in the southern hemispheres they 

 appear to be even still more abundant. 



Adjacent to the islands of Australia,^ the Sooty Petrels 

 (Procellaria pacifica) congregate in incredible masses, of 



* FLINDER'S Australia. 



