Among the Water-Fowl 



it is a strain upon the nerves to be ever on guard 

 against taking a single careless step and falling off 

 the clifF. The birds seemed so wonderfully at 

 ease, launching off into space, that, after watching 

 them awhile, it seemed almost natural and proper 

 to follow their example. 



At length, in our tour of investigation, we came 



around to the 

 south-east end 

 of the island, 

 where the Puf- 

 fins breed. The 

 ground here was 

 rather less grassy, 

 rough, with rock 

 cropping out. 

 Here and there 

 were holes in 

 the ground, the 

 entrances to the 

 burrows of the 

 Puffins, which 

 most often led 

 in under some flat rock. Groups of Puffins were 

 congregated upon several projecting rocks at the 

 edge of the cliff, and now and then an incubat- 

 ing bird would scurry out from a hole, as we 

 approached, and fly off. Here the cliff was broken 

 into a series of comparatively broad ledges, which 

 one could reach successively by several iron ladders. 

 It did not seem as formidable as on the other 

 side, and we both made the descent to the lowest 

 ledge, about fifteen or twenty feet above the water. 



60 



GANNET AND BRUNN'ICII S MURRES INCUBATING, 

 AS SEEN FROM ABOVE 



