them to the feather-dealers, the Guillemot and Razor- 

 bill are lumped together as " Divers." 



The principal food of this species consists of small 

 fishes, captured under water ; but I find it stated that 

 it also feeds upon crustaceans and marine insects. The 

 Guillemot lays a single egg of huge size in comparison 

 to the bulk of the bird ; these eggs vary in colour to an 

 almost unparallelled extent, but are always of an even 

 pear-shape. On many parts of the coast they are 

 regularly gathered by natives, who let themselves down 

 from above by ropes, and the eggs thus collected 

 are sold, not only for culinary purposes, but, as Mr. H. 

 Saunders informs us, for clarifying wine and for the pre- 

 paration of patent leather. 



The Guillemot sits upright on her egg, and the 

 gentleman from whom I have just quoted states at p. 71 

 of vol. iv. of Yarrell, 4th edition, that he has often seen 

 the eggs fall in showers from the ledges of Lundy Island 

 on the disturbance of the birds by the firing of a gun 

 for the delectation of tourists and " trippers." 



Against the organized and regulated gathering of the 

 eggs of sea-birds for open sale there is little to be said ; 

 the proprietors, lessees, and egg-gatherers may, I think, 

 be safely trusted not to exterminate any " fowl " whose 

 produce may be profitable ; but I cannot too strongly 

 condemn the practice (only too common, I fear) of 

 making up parties for sea-bird shooting from boats in 

 August when many of the victims are unable to fly, and 

 cannot save their lives by prolonged diving. It is 

 possible that some of the published accounts of the 

 doings of these gunners are exaggerated ; I most 



