46 | fear your mother has met a policeman. 
surprised by his almost immediate return to the family circle. The 
Tiercel seemed to waste nothing, and gave abundant mouthfuls 
of feathers all round. One negative was taken specially to show 
this. It also shows what I did not- notice at the time, the third 
eyelid giving his eye a filmy appearance. At one time he stopped 
feeding them, and stepping aside, stood panting with his exertions. 
I took this also. After the Tiercel had left, the young male who 
had received least food, began to peck at the puffin’s foot as if the 
colour attracted him, and he lifted the remains up, but, of course, 
as soon as he opened his mouth to swallow the foot dropped. At 
2.25 the Tiercel was crying for food, seconded by the hungry young 
male. At 2.50 the young male was again attracted by the puffin’s 
orange foot, and tried several times to swallow it. Once he drew 
himself up to his full height, and I could see that the remains con- 
sisted simply of the backbone holding the head, wings and legs 
together, even the ribs had gone. I was relieved at 3.30 p.m. 
Riley Fortune’s watch, from May 28th to May 2gth, records 
grim famine. He saw no food brought during the whole of that 
time. The Tiercel paid frequent visits, and tried to find scraps 
in the eyrie with which to feed the young, and during his absence 
the young hunted hungrily in the eyrie themselves. 
During King’s watch, from May zgth to May 30th, he records 
that the young remained asleep until 2.57 p.m., when the Tiercel 
brought a domestic chicken, the meal lasting fifteen minutes. He 
came again at 3.57, and fed them on the remains. After this he 
came several times without food, and the young were very hungry. 
Thursday, May 30th, the Tiercel came four times without food 
before 5.54 a.m., when he brought a thrush. He did not apparently 
catch this himself, as he was calling for food shortly before he 
brought it. At 6.35 the Falcon brought a bird while the Tiercel 
was in the eyrie. King was so pleased to see the Falcon that he 
did not notice what the quarry was. She alighted on B, and trans- 
ferring the bird to him remained there and watched him feed them. 
The Tiercel left at 6.45, but returned at 7.5, and resumed feeding. 
At 7.10 the Falcon brought a thrush into the eyrie, and transferred 
it. to the Tiercel; she only stayed about a minute. At 7.20 both 
alighted on the seaward end of A. The Falcon had a thrush in her 
