190 BIRD WATCHING 



their young ones are equally ready with those stand- 

 ing, to try and snatch away a fish from another, but 

 in the great majority of cases the bird who has flown 

 in with his booty and has a very firm hold of it, gets it 

 safely through the crowd. Such episodes as these are 

 rather of the nature of assault and robbery than regular 

 fighting, for the bird attacked, though often severely 

 pecked, never does anything but dodge and pull, for 

 he cannot well thrust back again whilst holding a fish 

 in his bill, and his whole endeavour is to avoid losing 

 this. Combats, however, are very frequent amongst 

 guillemots, much more so than I should have thought 

 the condition of living packed closely together on a 

 narrow ledge in the rock would have allowed, for surely 

 one might have expected that this necessity would 

 have been a power making for peace and concord. 

 That it has been so to some extent, I make no doubt, 

 and it may also have played a part in forming the 

 character of the fighting, which is — or, at least, it 

 struck me as being — somewhat peculiar. Though 

 often violent, it is not, as a rule, vindictive, and as 

 it seems to break out for no particular reason, so it 

 generally ceases suddenly by one of the two birds 

 stopping, as it were, in mid-thrust, and commencing 

 to preen itself, after which it may be resumed once or 

 twice before ceasing finally in the same way. The 

 other bird seems only too happy to be left in peace, 

 and instead of pressing the assault whilst his adversary 

 is thus engaged and at a momentary disadvantage, 

 generally stands unconcerned or begins to preen him- 

 self also. This sudden passing from the sublime to 

 the ridiculous, from war to the toilette, has a curious 

 and half comic effect. 



