374 BRITISH BIRDS. 



sea-weeds of various kinds, gathered with much 

 labour from the barren soil, or picked up floating 

 about upon the water. The female lays three 

 white eggs, somewhat less than those of a Goose, 

 although ornithologists assert that she will lay 

 only one egg, if left to herself undisturbed, and 

 that when this egg is taken away she then lays a 

 second, and in like manner a third, which she is 

 generally permitted to hatch, and rear the young 

 one. "The male and female hatch and fish by 

 turns ; the fisher returns to the nest with five or six 

 herrings in its gorget, all entire and undigested, 

 which the hatcher pulls out from the throat of its 

 provider, and swallows them, making at the same 

 time a loud noise." 



Their mode of taking their prey is peculiar; 

 they fall perpendicularly from a considerable 

 height into the water, not remaining there more 

 than a few seconds, till they secure the object of 

 their pursuit. 



These birds are common on the coasts of Norway 

 and Iceland, and are said to be met with in great 

 numbers about New Holland and New Zealand; 

 they breed also on the coasts of Newfoundland, 

 and migrate southward along the American shores 

 as far as South Carolina: they are noticed, indeed, 

 by navigators, as being met with, dispersed over 

 both hemispheres, and are probably one great 

 family spread over the whole globe ; but their 

 greatest known rendezvous is the Hebrides and 

 other solitary rocky isles of North Britain, where 

 their nests, in the months of May and June, are 

 described as so closely placed together, that it is 

 difficult to walk without treading upon some of 



