A Seaside Museum 



181 



be considered representative if the Guillemot, Razor-bill, and 

 Puffin, or " Sea-Parrot," were omitted. The above, with 

 others mentioned by Mr. Dixon, are represented in our collec- 

 tion by coloured illustrations, if not by actual specimens. 

 There is also a collection of Sea-birds' eggs, in which those 

 of the Guillemot constitute a very ornamental feature. 



Illustrations of our seaside birds, suitable for grouping in 

 swing frames, may be found in Messrs. Cassell's " Familiar 

 Wild Birds." 



II. Fish. — The Fifteen-spined Stickleback which frequents 

 all our coasts. Its remarkable nest may sometimes be found 

 in rocky pools between tide-marks. " The fish is about six 

 inches in length, and it is long and very slender at the 

 tail, and the tail fins are very large. The head puts one 

 in mind of that of a small pike, and there is a row of fifteen 

 small spines on the back, and each with a little piece of 

 membrane on it, in front of the fin. The nostrils are midway 

 between the snout and the eyes. The colour varies : in some 

 it is reddish-brown on the back, and this is the colour of the 

 first rays of the dorsal fins and tail. In others it is a deep 

 green. The cheeks and sides are often golden-yellow, and 

 lighter on the belly. It changes its colour quickly under the 

 influence of terror." Mr. Couch writes of its nest : " The 

 fish either find growing, or, certainly in some instances, 

 collect together, some of the softer threads of green or red 

 seaweeds, and join them with so much of the coralline growing 

 on the rock as will serve the purpose of affording firmness to 

 the structure. They constitute a mass, five or six inches long, 

 of a pear-like shape, and almost as stout as a man's fist. A 

 thread is employed with much skill and patience in winding 

 these materials together, and there is no doubt that its sub- 

 stance is derived from the creature's own body. It much 

 resembles silk, and is elastic, and appears to consist of smooth 

 threads glued together." 



The Three-bearded Rockling is also a nest-maker, using 

 the common coralline for^ this purpose, and laboriously 



