44 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and is not always of the same size. The eggs had generally to be 

 taken away from under the birds, which had to be pushed aside. 

 Below the breeding-places were found many smashed eggs, 

 with young in various stages of development, which had been 

 knocked down by the birds during their quarrels. On July 16th 

 I obtained some young from three to four days old ; the majority 

 of the birds were, however, still sitting on eggs already cracked : 

 on the 20th I obtained elsewhere some fairly developed young 

 ones. The plaintive piping of the little birds which had fallen 

 from their nests into the water, and which sounds louder than 

 that of any other young bird known to me, reminding one of 

 the piping of a lost chicken, caused the old Auks every time to 

 leave the breeding-places and to drop down after the young 

 ones. As the old ones touched the water, the little ones 

 dived under, and the old ones after them, and shortly they 

 appeared on the surface some distance off, the old birds grouped 

 round the young ones, and apparently reconciled. The young 

 birds, which were often hardly bigger than a Little Auk, were 

 generally quieted thereby ; occasionally, however, after a little 

 time, their pitiful cry was resumed, though at greater intervals. 

 It was noticed that the scene above described also took place 

 when the parents as well as the immediate neighbours of the 

 fallen birds had been killed. In late autumn of the previous 

 year half-grown birds were often seen at sea singly. Among 

 the many examples taken was a female shot on Feb. 20th, dis- 

 tinguished by its smaller size and aberrant form of head. The 

 total length of this specimen in the flesh was 40 centimetres ; 

 expanse of the wings, 30 c. ; length of wing from carpal 

 joint to tip, 18 c. ; length of tarsus, 3 c. ; length of bill from 

 angle of mouth to tip, 5*5 c. The bill is rather high in pro- 

 portion to its length, and is more strongly arched. In the lower 

 mandible the angle of the mandible is prominent and is directed 

 upwards. The feathers do not extend to the front of the nasal 

 groove ; on each side small white feathers form a narrow stripe 

 from the eye to the base of the bill. The bill and feet of the 

 bird when killed were blue-black. Nothing was seen of the 

 characteristic light longitudinal stripe at the base of the upper 

 mandible. The following Table, in which the measurements of the 

 four smallest and of the largest specimen is noted in centimetres 

 shows how important the dimensions are in this Guillemot : — 



