LXXV. BLACK GUILLEMOT YOUNG AND EGG. 



THIS plate is a delineation of the Black Guillemot's nest, or rather 

 of the place her eggs were laid, on the black damp earth in the 

 cleft of a rock, on a small island in Loch Ailort. The young ones 

 were drawn from life, and were not injured by the operation, 

 being afterwards restored in safety to their nursery. So far as we 

 have observed, it only lays one or two eggs and no more ; but 

 sometimes the birds lay near the same place and get mixed. 

 The Black Guillemot lays its eggs in a concealed and sheltered 

 place among the rocks at no great height above the sea. The 

 Common Guillemot and Razorbill lay theirs on an exposed shelf 

 of rock near the top of a precipice. 



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