214 
THE COMMON GUILLEMOT. 
Una troile. 
(plumage of the winter.) 
PLATE XIII. 
Colymbus troile, Linn Guillemot a capuchin, Tanm- — Guil- 
lemot, or Foolish Guillemot of British authors . — Golymbus 
minor, Gmd .— Lesser Guillemot, young and winter plumage. 
This is the only one of the British Guillemots that 
can be called common or abundant, the others being 
comparatively rare, and some only straggling visi- 
tants ; it is distributed all around our islands, and 
at any season small parties may be seen a short dis- 
tance from our coasts. While near their breeding 
places, at the proper season, they assemble in thou- 
sands, at times blackening the sea. They breed on 
the precipitous cliffs of the coast, or on the rocky 
islands, where they assemble in spring, and select 
ledges of rock for themselves, separate from the 
razor-bills and gulls which nestle on the same pre- 
cipice, and a whole colony of Guillemots may be 
perceived ranged in rows, without a single bird of 
another kind among them. Any intrusion, or a 
shot fired, causes them to stream down in thousands 
