486 ALCID^E 



vast bird-population takes ample advantage. This does not 

 fall off at about 200 feet from the water, as at Horn Head, 

 but covers the cliffs up to 500 feet. At this height the 

 deeply-cut horizontal fissures are packed with a dense 

 multitude of hatching Guillemots, which it requires careful 

 scrutiny to inspect from the next cliff-top. These birds 

 with Kittiwakes occupy also to its very apex that remark- 

 able pinnacle which rises from an isolated base to some 

 200 feet near O'Brien's Castle. Its sides are all ledged in 

 the lines of stratification, which are carried round the 

 angles and, as it tapers, form lines of prominence round its 

 shaft. It seems as if designed to hold the greatest possible 

 display of bird life" ('Birds of Ireland,' p. 862). 



The single egg, remarkably large for the size of the 

 bird, is much elongated and pear-shaped. It varies in 

 ground-colour as well as in other markings. Some examples 

 are white, streaked and blotched with brownish-black ; 

 others present a beautiful bluish-green tinge marked simi- 

 larly and exhibiting zig-zag ink-like scrolls. Less frequently 

 they are suffused with rich chestnut-red as seen in some 

 of those of the Eazorbill. Lastly, blue or white eggs, 

 devoid of markings, are not uncommon varieties. Incuba- 

 tion begins about the middle of May, and nestlings are 

 seldom observed before the middle of June. During the 

 process of hatching the shells generally become much soiled. 



About the middle of July the young reach the sea, being 

 pushed off the cliffs by their parents. After the first week 

 in August the breeding-haunts are quite deserted. I have 

 not seen the offspring transported to the water in the hollow 

 of the parent's back, as has been stated by some observers. 

 The young, on first reaching the water, remain on the 

 surface crying like little Razorbills ; soon, however, they 

 learn to follow the old birds under the water. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, the Guillemot breeds 

 in the Faroes, Iceland, and over a large area of the coasts 

 and islands of Northern Europe and the Arctic Ocean. In 

 Temperate Europe it breeds in the Baltic Sea, on Heligo- 

 land, on parts of the coast of France, and eggs have been 

 obtained from the Berlengas Islands, off Portugal (Saunders). 

 The breeding-range on the American Continent extends 

 from Greenland, Northern Canada, and Alaska, down to 

 California and New England ; and on the Pacific side to 

 Japan. In autumn and winter the Guillemot inhabits 

 the North Atlantic Ocean down to lat. 30 N., and abounds 



