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CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



decidedl) angular beneatli ; its sides are compressed, and edges somewhat drawn in; the foot resembles 

 that of Cephus gtylle, but the toes are proportionately longer ; the wings are also smaller and more 

 pointed, and the tail, composed of twelve feathers, shorter; the general plumage is thick and compact ; 

 the under surface is usually white and almost fur-like, whilst the upper parls of the body are more or 

 less dark brown. The Guillemots principally inhabit northern latitudes, at certain seasons appearing 

 in more temperate climates ; except during the period of incubation they seldom visit the land, but 

 pass their whole time upon the ocean. They are excellent swimmers, and dive well, using both feet 

 and wings for their propulsion, so that their movements beneath the water are performed with 

 admirable rapidity and precision ; their flight is rapid but hurried, and, owing to the shortness of their 

 wings, whirring and noisy. So numerous are these birds in the neighbourhood of their breeding-places, 

 that (more especially if it be a rock of a pyramidal form) they resemble at a distance a great swarm 

 of bees. When descending into the water to fish for food, their wings are kept quite straight and 

 motionless. Except during the breeding season these flights are not often attempted, at other times 

 they seldom leave the water, or if induced to take a short excursion, by way of exercising their wings, 

 they soon drop down again into the friendly shelter of the waves. They are almost unable to progress 

 upon dry land ; occasionally, however, they may be seen upon the beach, half walking and half 

 flying, with a very peculiar gait, somewhat resembling dancing. Anyone who has visited the breeding- 

 places of these birds will no longer wonder that they have in all languages received names expressive 

 of foolishness and stupidity. When in the water they will often let a boat come close to them 

 without showing the slightest distrust of its dangerous occupants, and on dry land, such is their 

 unconsciousness of harm, that they will allow a man to come within a few steps of them without 

 stirring from the spot. This so-called stupidity or indolence is, however, easily explicable. Of man, 

 who seldom visits their wild resorts, they have no experience, and consequently have not learned to 

 fear him ; but should a Falcon or an Eagle make its appearance, even in the remote distance, thousands 

 of them at once take wing, and hastily retreat to some place of safety. The cliffs on which they build 

 present a remarkable spectacle ; rocks abounding in rifts, cracks, shelves, and ledges, stretching along 

 the shore or rising abruptly from the sea, afford them the situations they prefer ; if isolated, solitary, 

 and accessible to none but winged creatures, so much the more eligible. There, about the end of 

 March or beginning of April, they may be seen to congregate, their numbers gradually increasing 

 until countless multitudes throng every available situation. Thousands and hundreds of thousands 

 swarm upon the ledges, shelves, and projections, wherever these are to be found, and range themselves 

 in rows like a regiment of soldiers, all with their white breasts turned towards the sea, hundreds of 

 thousands more may be seen flying off from the ledges of the cliffs down to the water below, 

 while multitudes, equally innumerable, are as constantly flying upwards from the sea to the cliff, and 

 whole fleets are swimming and diving in the waves beneath. Strange to say, although every place 

 affording foothold is crowded to excess, the utmost order and decorum everywhere prevail ; each seems 

 desirous of assisting and accommodating the other, so that disputes or battles seldom occur. The 

 countless pairs of which this vast assembly consists exhibit the utmost constancy and attachment, and 

 may be seen before the eggs are laid, keeping constantly together, caressing each other with their 

 beaks, and evincing the greatest affection. They fly off together to the sea, fish together for a supply 

 of food, and then return to their nesting-place, where they subsequently share the duties connected 

 with the incubation of the eggs, and the procuration of food for their progeny. The female lays but 

 a single very large egg, which is shaped like a pegtop, and thus, by a simple but beautiful contrivance, 

 is prevented from rolling off the narrow ledge on which, without any other protection, it safely rests. 

 The egg is provided with a coarse shell, spotted and streaked with dark markings upon a light ground, 

 but so variable are the colours, that out of a hundred scarcely two will be found exactly alike. 





