GUILLEMOTS, RAZORBILL, ETC. 133 



a beautiful green, streaked in the same manner 

 with yellow, light brown, or nearly black ; others 

 of various ground colours are zoned with blotches, 

 or marked with fantastic-shaped spots and rings. 

 Some eggs of the Guillemot closely resemble those 

 of the Razorbill, but may be distinguished by the 

 yellowish -white interior of the shell when held 

 up to the light. 



There has been much controversy as to the way 

 in which the Guillemot chicks reach the water from 

 their lofty birthplace. Some writers assert that the 

 parent bird carries them down to the sea on its 

 back ; on the other hand, Gatke maintains that the 

 chicks tumble off the ledges into the water, being 

 enticed to do so by the old birds swimming on the 

 sea beneath the cliffs. He writes : " in its distress, 

 the little chick tries to get as near as possible to the 

 mother waiting for it below, and keeps tripping 

 about on the outermost ledge of rock, often of no 

 more than a finger's breath, until it ends by slipping 

 off, and, turning two or three somersaults, lands 

 with a faint splash on the surface of the water ; 

 both parents at once take charge of it between 

 them, and swim off with it towards the open sea. 

 This is the only way in which I have seen this 

 change of habitat of the young birds accomplished, 

 during some fifty summers." As soon as the 

 young are sufficiently matured, the sea in the 

 vicinity of the breeding-stations is deserted, and 

 the colonies disperse far and wide. From this 



