122 BIRDS OF THE WORLD 



coasts in the northern parts of both hemispheres, 

 where they live in enormous colonies. 



The Guillemot and the Razor-bill breed on the 

 edges of cliffs, laying, on the bare rock, but a single 

 pear-shaped egg. The Puffin, on the other hand, 

 chooses a burrow for its nest, seizing, as a rule, one 

 dug either by a rabbit or a Petrel, and driving out the 

 rightful occupants by the aid of its powerful beak. 

 See Plate 40, Fig. 239. 



These birds are all compact in form, with short, 

 rounded tails and webbed feet. Their wings, while 

 short, are very powerful, and the birds fly with great 

 speed, but they are not graceful on the wing and do 

 not soar like the Gulls and some of their allies. 

 Owing to their almost inaccessible breeding-grounds, 

 these birds are still very plentiful. Their eggs are 

 used for food by the Eskimos and the flesh of the birds 

 as well. The eggs are collected during the warmer 

 months of the year and stored for use during the long 

 winter. See Plate 39, Fig. 233. 



The Murres are closely allied to the Guillemots and 

 much like them in form. Two species — the California 

 and Pallas's Murre — are extremely abimdant on the 

 islands of the Bering Sea and are said "to outnumber 

 all the other sea birds in that region fully ten to one." 

 See Plate 40, Fig. 238. 



One writer who has studied these birds in their 

 haunts on the islands of the Bering Sea, says : "Puf- 

 fins are the most outlandish birds, trim in build, about 

 a foot in length, with very short feet and webbed toes. 

 When seated on the rocks they assume an erect pos- 

 ture, and their small heads set close down upon their 



