THE GUILLEMOT. 
287 
slaughter has now almost entirely ceased, we may yet be able 
to acquire some idea of the appearance of the cliffs in the 
breeding seasons of former years. 
Old birds are so difficult to tame that the attempt is seldom 
made ; the young, however, when taken soon after the quill 
feathers begin to appear, readily submit to circumstances, and 
are quite familiar with their captor in a couple of days. In 
running as well as in standing, the young birds rest upon the 
toes, seldom upon the tarsi ; but as they attain their full growth 
the opposite is the case, their bodies having then probably 
become proportionably heavier. When a full-grown bird is 
caught and placed upon the floor, it lies upon the full length of 
the breast and endeavours to swim, making such severe exertions 
that if not removed it very soon injures both wings and feet. 
The young birds can walk very well. Of late years it has not 
been the practice to snare Guillemots, the fowler merely taking 
such as he can readily lay his hands upon. Birds caught in 
this manner of course make by far the best specimens. 
Towards the middle of May, besides the large numbers of 
Guillemots which have assembled at the breeding stations, 
pairs in full summer plumage are frequent upon various parts 
of the coast, but by the end of the month solitary individuals 
alone are there to be seen. 
The first eggs are usually found about the third week in 
May, and during the whole of June they may be procured 
fresh in abundance. I have seen them even as late as the 10th 
of July. Clean eggs are nearly always fresh, the surface upon 
which they are laid being sure to soil them in a very few 
hours. A stranger paying his first visit to a large colony of 
Guillemots is usually surprised at the unexpectedly small pro- 
portion of the green ones ; but this is easily accounted for. 
Dealers, in ordinary supplies of sea-birds’ eggs, refuse to take 
any Guillemots’ except handsome ones, which to most eyes are 
those of the greener sort. Even the scientific collector, having 
obtained the most marked varieties, in selecting attractive 
specimens to fill up his drawer almost unconsciously chooses 
