254 CASSELLS BOOK OF BIRDS. 



lesser Black-backed and the Herring Gulls. Two distinct species scarcely ever breed close by the side 

 of each other." 



The egg is laid on a ledge or hollow of the bare rock : it is pear-shaped, about three inches and 

 a quarter long, of a blueish green, or yellowish green colour, with streaks and blotches of brown 

 or black : sometimes the eggs are plain white or green. Great numbers of these eggs are collected by 

 men who descend from the cliff above by means of ropes. The eggs are hatched in about a month. 

 The young are fed for a short time on the rocks by their parents, after which they accompany them to 

 the sea. In what manner they descend seems to be a problem. Mr. Waterton was assured by the 

 men about Flamborough Head that when the young Guillemot gets to a certain size, it manages to 

 climb on the back of the old bird, which conveys it down to ocean ; and Mr. Yarrell, in support of 

 this statement, assures us that he has seen at the base of very high cliffs in the Isle of Wight the young 

 of Razor-bills and Guillemots " so small that they could not have made the descent by themselves from 

 the lofty site of their birthplace without destruction ; yet these little birds knew perfectly well how to 

 take care of themselves, and at the approach of a boat would swim away and dive like so man)' 

 Dabchic-ks/' About August, old and young leave the rocks and take to open water. Audubon gives 

 the following curious description of these birds on a group of rocks, which consist of several low islands, 

 destitute of vegetation, and at no great height from the water. " Here thousands of Guillemots 

 annually assemble at the beginning of May to deposit each its single egg and raise its young. As you 

 approach these islands, the air becomes darkened with the multitudes of these birds that fly about. 

 Every square foot of the ground seems to be occupied by a Guillemot planted erect, as it were, on the 

 granite rock, but carefully warming its cherished egg. .All look towards the south, and if you are 

 fronting them, the snowy white of their bodies produces a remarkable effect, for the birds at some 

 distance look as if destitute of head, so much does that part assimilate with the dark hue of the rocks 

 on which they stand. On the other hand, if you approach them in the rear, the isle appears 

 as if covered with a black pall." 



THE LITTLE AUK, OR GUILLEMOT. 



The Little Auk, or Guillemot (Arctica or Mergulus Alk), is recognisable by its short thick 

 beak, which is vaulted above, much turned in at its cutting edge, and incised near its sharp point ; in 

 old birds the bill is furrowed in front of the oval-shaped nostril apertures. The upper part of the body 

 is deep black, paler upon the fore neck ; the under surface is white, striped with brown upon the 

 sides ; the foot is blueish. In winter the throat is whitish and the neck dark grey. The length of 

 this species is from nine to ten inches, breadth sixteen to eighteen inches, length of wing five and a 

 half to six inches, and that of tail one inch and one-eighth to one and three-eighths. The Little Auk 

 is in Greenland generally known to the whale-fishers as the " Ice Bird," from an idea that its presence 

 in any considerable numbers betokens the vicinity of ice. It is usually found within the Arctic 

 Circle. Captain Parry found it even as far north as 82 ° north latitude; and they were numerous 

 between 8i° and 82 . Around Spitzbergen, and Nova Zembla, and near Greenland, it is common; 

 further south it is much scarcer ; in Great Britain it is only a winter visitor, and is most frequently 

 see-n in the Orkney and Shetland Isles ; specimens have, however, been seen upon the English coast, 

 even as far south as Kent. These birds only visit the shores for the purpose of incubation, except 

 when driven inland by violent storms ; the ocean is their home, and there they may be seen riding 

 joyfully upon the surge or sleeping tranquilly with their beak buried among their feathers even amid 

 the raging of the billows. 



" In the course of my voyages across the Atlantic," observes Audubon, " I have often observed 

 the Little Guillemots in small groups, rising and flying to short distances at the approach of the ship, 



