Birds of Britain 



and powerful, and they cling on with all the tenacity of 

 a bull-dog. 



They feed chiefly by night and spend the day resting on 

 the water or at the mouth of their burrows. The food con- 

 sists of small fry, and when feeding their young as many 

 as three or four fish are caught and carried up in their bill 

 at the same time. If approached by boat, they remain 

 till one is just on them, and then suddenly dive. Under 

 the water their progress is extremely rapid, and both wings 

 and feet are brought into play, but especially the former. 



The young are clad in very thick long down of a dark 

 smoke-grey colour. As they grow they will often move 

 about the passage, running to the entrance and meeting 

 their parents, but never venturing outside, while if they 

 meet another young one bound on a similar errand a stern 

 fight ensues. 



Not, however, till they are fully fledged do they leave the 

 burrow and then immediately take to the water, on which 

 they are quite at home, swimming and diving with ease 

 from the very first. 



The parents, whose plumage has lately been showing 

 signs of wear, now commence to moult, and shed at the 

 same time the ornate sheath at the base of the bill and 

 over the eye, while the beak itself becomes dark and 

 the rosette at the corners of the mouth shrinks. A few 

 more days and by the end of August they have gone — 

 where ? They are never seen, and the only evidence of 

 their existence is the occasional occurrence of a dead or 

 starving individual washed ashore or blown inland by a 

 winter's gale. 



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