THE KINGED GUILLEMOT. 
295 
sisting of a male and a female ; but 1 have never seen a ringed 
and a plain bird together except in flocks, neither have I found 
the two of a couple to be of one sex. At present these facts 
are of little value, and before they can be practically applied 
the assistance of other resident observers will be required. 
From the latest accounts it appears that the two kinds even 
pair together ; but one source of error must be kept in view, 
namely, that the same thing occurs among many species of 
birds, and with fertile result, though not always. In the case of 
the Guillemots, who is able to declare that his observation of 
the pair has ever extended further than the fact of pairing ? 
One point at least I think I have settled, viz., — that 
although [among adults ?] — the white marks in question may 
possibly be peculiar to very old birds, they occur in the young 
bird in its first plumage. After a vast amount of persuasion, 
watching, and feeing, 1 at last induced some of the people to keep 
both birds, giving them liberal supplies of fish and full liberty 
to run about the cottages. Young birds were of course selected, 
but none lived as long as I could have wished ; the last of the 
ringed birds living to the end of the fifth year, and the last 
common one only surviving it a few months. There was neither 
disappearance of the marks in the one case nor assumption of 
them in the other. Thus were much time and trouble wasted ; 
for, as Mr WoUey observed (“ZooL,” 1852, p. 3479), when pro- 
posing a trial of the experiment, — If the ringed changed to 
common birds, or vice versa^ 1 suppose every one would be 
satisfied, on the fact being properly attested ; but if they did 
not change, unfortunately nothing would be proved.” 
The series of eggs which I had collected from under the 
ringed birds I considered a great point gained, for though most 
of the birds were sitting side by side with the common ones, 
I was then unaware that each does not invariably return to its 
own egg, although it is very seldom that the mistake is com- 
mitted. Since that time I have always collected them from 
those little visited because comparatively unproductive spots, 
where two or three ringed birds built, not always alone, but 
