1368 The Zoologist — September, 1868. 



not so much given to perching on the rocks, and being more timorous 

 and cautious birds, they are seldom caught in the nets like the 

 puffins, razorbills and guillemots. Their eggs seem to be considered 

 great delicacies by the cragsmen, as the heap of egg-shells behind the 

 house testifies; but the flavour I cannot vouch for, as the eggs I saw 

 were all "clocked" or addled. 



Puffin. — The puffin seems the most numerous of the birds which 

 frequent Ailsa Craig: it breeds everywhere all up the sides of the 

 precipice where a patch of soil is found in which it can burrow, as 

 it always prefers to burrow in soil to laying its egg in the crannies of 

 rock. Wherever a tuft of campion blooms there it makes its burrow, 

 at the extremity of which it lays its single egg, of dull white ingrained 

 in the shell or clouded with very light drab. The eggs vary very 

 little in markings, with the exception of being lighter or darker, but 

 the form of those I saw varied a good deal. The "patie," as the 

 cragsmen call the puffin, breeds not only about the cliffs, but all over 

 the dome of the craig to its very summit. Wherever a heap of stones 

 occur there is sure to be the burrow of the puffin, with two or three 

 demure little puffins sitting on the stones looking at you ; they allow 

 themselves to be approached very closely, and then by a rapid motion 

 of the wings dart down and plunge into the sea. A very pretty sight 

 it is to see them silling on a gray stone surrounded with the pure 

 white blooming bladder campion and rich green of the bracken fern : 

 their pretty orange feet contrasts with the green, and their short wings 

 and curious beak look very grotesque. They often use a rabbit- 

 burrow to lay their eggs in, instead of excavating one for themselves, 

 but woe to the ungloved hand that is put into their burrow when 

 the puffin is at home ! their neb meets in the flesh, and they hold on, 

 and will not let go, as my hands can testify. 



Razorbill Auk and Guillemot. — The three rock-birds, razorbill auk, 

 guillemot and puffin, or, in the craig phraseology, " strannie," " cock" 

 and " patie," are the most numerous birds which breed on Ailsa, and 

 it is for their feathers that the craig is rented. As they all breed on the 

 precipices and debris of rock they are easily captured with nets, traps, 

 poles, &c, owing to their habit of perching on the rocks and cairns 

 of stone. The razorbills and guillemots are caught in great quantities 

 with large meshed nets, not unlike herring-nets, spread over the rocks. 

 Being eager to obtain a few specimens of birds and also to see their 

 breeding-haunts, I follow the climber one morning as he trudges along 

 the path through the chaos of stones, on which raised beach of 



