THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. 
209 
croak. They admitted of a very close approach. The old birds 
dived several times, and on each occasion brought up a fish, which 
was always given to the young. The latter rested quietly on the 
surface of the water, and never attempted to fish for themselves, 
but hurried forward rapidly to their parents when they brought 
up any prey. Two of these birds were accidentally taken on 
hooks baited with herring fry. 
The Rev. G. M. Black, writing from Annalong, on the coast 
of Down in November 1849, remarked: — “ A guillemot (77. 
troile ) was brought to me a short time since, which I at first 
thought had been wounded, as, when put down on the ground, 
it made no attempt either to walk or fly, but was very bold, 
striking hard with its bill. When I afterwards took it to the 
beach, within a few paces of the sea, the eager attempt to get into 
its proper element was very amusing, as aided both by legs and 
wings it shoved itself along in a most awkward way. On reaching 
the sea, it at once dived, rose fifty yards off, flapped its wings, 
and seemed well and happy ; it is evident these birds cannot rise 
to the wing from the ground, though they make considerable 
flights from the sea.” 
Guillemots have been found washed ashore dead on the 
beach of Belfast Bay/after tempestuous w r eather late in autumn, 
and throughout the winter. They were in all such cases, in au- 
tumn as well as winter, extremely poor in flesh ; worn almost to 
skeletons. 
Either these or razorbills or both (the species not being dis- 
tinguished) are sometimes washed ashore, dead, at Carlingford 
Bay, in numbers during winter. In that season, of 1847-48, 
“ twenty-five guillemots were found dead on the Bull sand -bank, 
Dublin Bay. There had been a gale from the north-east con- 
tinuously for some days, about a week previously 
These birds would seem to come in spring to our shores, from 
localities where they are little molested, as they are then much 
more easy of approach than after being accustomed for a short 
* Mr. R. J. Montgomery. 
VOL. III. P 
