9674 Birds. 



waist, he drew the rope round him and hitched it in a noose j the next 

 moment the lad fainted : had he hesitated the poor fellow would have 

 gone down two hundred feet, and had he missed the rope they would 

 have fallen together. Those above turned yjale at the sight, but in a 

 few minutes were rejoicing to see both men safe on terra Jirina, and 

 the lad was restored to consciousness. Such an act of courage is 

 beyond praise. Meadon told me that although he had run some great 

 risks he never lost nerve but once. On tliat occasion he had descended 

 with only a hand-line to take some guillemot's eggs : he was lowered 

 to a level with llicm, but the ledge on which they were was just 

 beyond his reach; beneath it was a mound, apparently of sufficient 

 firmness to bear his weight; giving hiujself a swing, he landed on it, 

 and holding the rope loosely in his right hand to prevent it regaining 

 the perpendicular, he commenced taking the eggs. Without a 

 moment's warning the entire mound he was on went into the sea, 

 and he suddenly found himself hanging by one hand and swinging 

 rapidly round, as he said, " like a leg of mutton upon a jack." It was 

 some time before he could regain his feet, and for once in his life he 

 stood trembling from head to foot at the fate lie had escaped ; but this 

 feeling was soon shaken off, and he relumed to the top of the cliff' in 

 safety, but without his eggs. 



Puffin. — The fishermen call the guillemot and razorbill "puffins;" 

 the true puffins [Mormon fratercnla) they call "parrot-bills," This 

 species breeds at St. Aldhani's Head, but, owing to the depth of the 

 holes in which they deposit their eggs, it is not easy to reach them ; 

 hence they are not so much disturbed. The eggs, moreover, are not 

 considered such good eating as those of the guilleuiot. 



Cormorant. — The cormorant does not appear to be so plentiful in 

 the South as in the North. Two years ago, when at the Faroe Islands, 

 1 looked in vain for the shag, where the cormorant was very common ; 

 this year, on the Dorset coast we saw at least twenty shags for every 

 cormorant. The latter is easily distinguished from the former when 

 flying by the white patches on the thighs and white cheeks; the shag 

 at a distance looks perfectly black, and is always called the "black 

 shag" by the fishermen. The cormorant is a very wary bird, and 

 seems always on the alert. We had great difficulty in getting near 

 them, and only succeeded in bagging one : this bird gave us a good 

 chase, and caused some little excitement; it was winged at a con- 

 siderable distance with a cartridge of No. 4 shot, and on touching the 

 water at once dived : our boat followed, and the bird struck out to sea. 

 Those who have tried it know how difficult it is to kill a bird sitting 



