MODERN CLIFF-DWELLERS 



to pass on, and scale down again and out over 

 the ocean. No bird seems ever to turn hack and 

 alight. It appears to be a sort of social require- 

 ment, in this bird-city, never to alight, except 

 after the conventional circuit out over the water. 

 Puffins, Murres and Razor-bills often gathered in 

 groups on the rocks at the top of the cliff, but 

 always at the very edge. They were not shy, and 

 would let one 

 approach within 

 about twenty 

 feet before tak- 

 ing to flight. 

 Now and then a 

 G a n n e t would 

 perch at the top, 

 but not for long, 

 and it was still 

 rarer to see a 

 Kittiwake in 

 such a position. 

 Both these spe- 

 cies, for the most 

 part, nested well 

 down from the top, but I soon noticed a group of 

 Gannets only about fifteen feet down, and this was 

 one of the first subjects for the camera. A single 

 one, quite approachable both as to disposition and 

 location, had a nest even nearer the top. 



It seemed impossible not to follow the birds 

 with the eye, and the result at first was to produce 

 slight dizziness and headache, almost " sea-sickness. " 

 And then, too, until one gets accustomed to it, 



59 



I SOON NOTICED A GROUP OF GANNETS ONLY 

 ABOUT FIFTEEN FEET DOWN " 



