*The Bird Book 



clean appearance to the birds, and there is some- 

 thing especially fascinating in examining a some- 

 what unfamiliar bird under such circumstances. 

 When at length we did release our captives, they 

 seemed only too glad to scramble back into their 

 burrows. 



I suppose it is inevitable that where such num- 

 bers of birds congregate, their enemies, feathered 

 and otherwise, should be fairly numerous, and 

 Lundy certainly has its share of Hawks. I have 

 never actually seen them stoop at the sea-fowl, 

 but there is no reason to suppose that they do not 

 do so. This abundant food supply, however, is of 

 short duration, for by the middle of August not a 

 Guillemot, Razorbill or Puffin is to be seen on the 

 island. The birds, accompanied by their young, 

 are floating with boat-like ease on the waves, and 

 dive simultaneously if we attempt to approach 

 them. In September they get their winter plum- 

 age, which in the Guillemot differs from the summer 

 coat in having the throat and cheeks white. 



Whether it is on account of this food supply, 

 or of the rugged and precipitous nature of its 

 cliffs, Lundy can still boast of some Peregrine 

 Falcons, and the young that are sometimes taken 

 there, are, I am told, famous in the hawking world 

 for their dash and spirit. They can never become 

 numerous there, for the parents drive away their 

 young when the latter are able to hunt for them- 

 selves. 



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