The Zoologist — November, 1871. 2827 



whiting and conger; also a fish called by the fishermen a 

 " megget," not iincomruon on this rocky coast ; but I believe the 

 proper name is the bib {Gadus luscus, Linn.). It is peculiar for its 

 very curious habit, when hooked, of protruding or blowing out the 

 membrane round the eyes: these members look as if forced from 

 their sockets, reminding one of a snared hare. The fishermen say 

 " the megget cries its eyes out when hooked." Clinging to the line 

 were specimens both of the rosy sun-star {Solaster papposa) and a 

 smaller species. 



The sea this evening swarmed with life. Drifting past were 

 hundreds of Medusae, about as large as a penny-piece, and marked 

 with delicate purple striae. Also immense numbers of jelly-like 

 creatures, as large as a good-sized hazel-nut, and much the same 

 shape ; each had two slender filaments appended. When lifted 

 from the water they resembled exquisite miniature jellies, 

 transparent as pure crystal, and delicately moulded into concave 

 ovate lobes, with rows of minute spots descending from the apex to 

 the base. They are, I believe, the larvae of some species of 

 Asterias. 



For home, like winged fates, the guillemots had been coming in 

 from the sea to roost. It would be hopeless to attempt giving any 

 idea of the enormous body of sea-fowl frequenting these rocks ; 

 hour after hour they had been passing us in flocks of various 

 sizes, and their numbers never seemed to grow less. Our man told 

 me that in the evening, when fishing off Speeton, they have some- 

 times seen the old guillemots carrying their young one down to the 

 water, which they do on their back, and that occasionally the 

 little fellow would tumble off, and fall into the water sooner than 

 was intended. By the end of the month, and often before the 

 birds have left their breeding-stations, a strong east wind in 

 August clears the chffs, and sends their tenants out to sea. The 

 guillemot may be found in the North Sea throughout the winter. 

 They often return to the neighbourhood of the headland in 

 November; the razorbills about Christmas; and both become 

 common in January. The kittiwake does not breed till the fourth 

 summer, — or, probably, as Mr. Blake-Knox says (Zool. 2124), the 

 fifth summer, — the young of the second and third year keeping at 

 sea, following the shoals of herrings and other fish. I did not 

 either see or hear any nestling gulls on the cliffs, but young 

 guillemots were still tolerably plentiful, and we heard the nestlings 



