470 ALCIDM 



civorous, and sprats, carried diagonally in the beak, form 

 the principal diet ; I have also found abundance of crabs 

 and shrimps in the stomachs of birds dissected. 



Nest. During the month of March and the first part of 

 April, Razorbills assemble at their breeding-homes on the 

 cliffs. While abundant on many of the British headlands, 

 this species is, perhaps on the whole, less numerous than 

 the Guillemot, though in Ireland the breeding-places appear 

 to be more numerous. With the Guillemot the Razorbill 

 may be found in certain proportions, breeding on the bare 

 faces of sheer, beetling cliffs, but, unlike the former, it 

 resorts to the shelter of nooks, overhanging ledges, and less 

 frequently to burrows. Vast colonies are usually formed in 

 company with other sea-birds ; yet small groups, and even 

 odd pairs, breed in some districts at distances apart. A 

 single egg, disproportionately large for the size of the owner, 

 is laid towards the end of May. The ground-colour varies 

 from white to creamy-brown, boldly blotched, streaked, and 

 even zoned, with brown shading to purplish-black. Unlike 

 the egg of the Guillemot, a light bluish or greenish ground- 

 colour of the shell is very uncommon ; yet curiously enough 

 the lining-membrane, seen when the empty shell is held up 

 to the light, appears green, whereas that of the Guillemot 

 is light yellowish. 



Both sexes incubate in turn, the male feeding the female 

 when thus engaged. When hatching, the bird sits along 

 not across its bulky egg. 



It is interesting to observe the way in which the parents 

 convey their offspring to the sea before the latter are able 

 to fly. This may be witnessed best about the last week in 

 July. The birds then begin to leave the cliffs, and the 

 young are apparently roughly treated, being jostled and 

 pushed off their ledges ; yet their fall is so broken as they 

 tumble and scramble down the face of the cliff that they 

 generally reach the water in safety. 1 Indeed, the few which 

 get injured in this way form an exceedingly small propor- 

 tion of the numbers which might forfeit their lives to 

 Falcons and other enemies, during their parents' absence 

 at sea, were they to remain longer on the cliffs. 



It is amusing to watch the bewildered expression of the 



1 I have not seen the parent seize the offspring by its neck and carry 

 it down to the water, though this habit has been vouched for by some 

 observers. 



