THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. 209 



croak. They admitted of a very close approach. The okl birds 

 dived several times^ and on each occasion brought up a fish, wliich 

 was always given to the young. The latter rested quietly on the 

 surface of the water, and never attempted to fish for themselves, 

 but hurried forward rapidly to their parents when they brought 

 up any prey. Two of these birds were accidentally taken on 

 hooks baited with herring fry. 



The Eev. G. M. Black, writing from Annalong, on the coast 

 of Down in November 1849, remarked: — "A guillemot {U. 

 troile) was brought to me a short time since, which I at first 

 thought had been wounded, as, when put down on the ground, 

 it made no attempt either to walk or fly, but was very bold, 

 striking hard with its bill. When I afterwards took it to the 

 beach, within a few paces of the sea, the eager attempt to get into 

 its proper element was very amusing, as aided both by legs and 

 wings it shoved itself along in a most awkward way. On reaching 

 the sea, it at once dived, rose fifty yards off, flapped its wings, 

 and seemed well and happy ; it is evident these birds cannot rise 

 to the wing from the ground, though they make considerable 

 flights fi'om the sea." 



Guillemots have been found washed ashore dead on the 

 beach of Belfast Bay, after tempestuous weather late in autumn, 

 and throughout the winter. They were in all such cases, in au- 

 tumn as well as winter, extremely poor in flesh ; worn almost to 

 skeletons. 



Either these or razorbills or both (the species not being dis- 

 tinguished) are sometimes washed ashore, dead, at CarHngford 

 Bay, in numbers during winter. In that season, of 1847—48, 

 " twenty-five guillemots were found dead on the Bull sand-bank, 

 Dublin Bay. There had been a gale from the north- cast con- 

 tinuously for some days, about a week previously.-"* 



These birds would seem to come in spring to our shores, from 

 localities where they are little molested, as they are then much 

 more easy of approach than after being accustomed for a short 



* Mr. R. J. Montgomei7. 

 VOL. III. P 



