498 



ALCIM5 



water ; l and in densely-packed colonies they seem to fill the 

 air like a swann of gigantic flies. On sea they are much 

 less noticeable than on land, but even when flying the 

 massive head and remarkably deep beak are distinguishable. 

 Food. Food is procured by diving, at which the Puffin 

 is expert. It uses both wings and legs to propel itself under 

 water, and can turn adroitly in pursuit of ' fry' at no great 

 depth from the surface. When catering for their young, 

 the parent-birds capture several fish in rapid succession, 

 and as many as half-a-dozen may be seen dangling from 

 the sides of their beaks when they arrive on the slopes of 

 the cliff. Small crabs are also eaten by the adult birds. 



FIG. 59. PUFFIN. 



Nest. About the middle of March the birds begin to 

 assemble on the cliffs of both island and mainland. The 

 numbers increase for a couple of weeks or more, until 

 colonies, in some places composed of countless throngs, 

 have assembled. Breeding as they do in burrows, generally 

 those appropriated from rabbits, these birds require earthy 

 soil, so that on barren, precipitous headlands teeming with 

 Guillemots and Kittiwakes, they are often scarce. But 

 should the summits of the cliffs be capped with patches of 

 soft earth, then Puffins may be seen ascending to their lofty 

 though subterranean homes. 



1 At the appearance of the Falcon thousands leave the cliffs and dart 

 downwards to the sea with amazing speed. 



