its bill, and makes a meal of the contents: the young ones 

 are eafily tamed, and may be brought up with domeftic poultry ; 

 they are very ufeful in a garden, as they deftroy all kinds of 

 worms, (lugs, caterpillars, and fnails, the fhell of the latter they 

 perforate at one ftroke with their bill, and extract the animal 

 in an inftant. Their flefh is exceedingly rank and offenfive to the 

 fmell, it is covered with a thick coat of fat immediately under 

 the fkin ; they are very common in our London markets ; we 

 pre fume they are brought there more as articles of curiofity 

 than food, the flefh being fo remarkably rancid and bitter, we 

 conceive it hardly poflible that any thing fhort of neceffity 

 could induce any one to eat it, 



Thefe birds are eonftant inhabitants of the fea-fliorc, in the 

 winter they may be feen in fmall flocks, and are then very 

 my, they are feldom obferved in pairs except in the breeding 

 feafon ; the female lays four or five eggs of a greenifh colour,/ 

 fpotted with black, in an open dry fituation, generally behind 

 a tuft or {tone, fomewhat above high-water mark ; me leaves 

 the eggs entirely during the day, but is careful to fit on them 

 clofely at night ; the young run about almoftas foon as hatched. 



They prefer wading in (hallow places out of the dream, but 

 mould they be overtaken by the current and get into deep 

 water, they do not attempt to fwim, but will float therein for 

 a confiderable time, amufmg themfelves during their voyage 9 

 by feeding on any kind of fea-weed that may come within 

 their reach. Like mod pied birds,, they are not conftantly 

 marked alike, in fome the wings are nearly white, in others 

 black, and in one inftance, we have feen the bird with fcarceiy 

 a white feather about it, 



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