234 
THE PUFFIN. 
Fratercula arctica. 
PLATE XIX. 
Alca aretica, Linn . — Fratercula arctica, Slcph . — Mormon frater- 
cula, Temm . — Puffin or Sea Parrot, of British authors. 
This curious bird is a summer visitant only to our 
shores, repairing to them for the purpose of incuba- 
tion ; its winter range, however, does not seem to 
be so correctly ascertained, Mr. Selby stating that 
the rest of the year is spent on the southern coasts 
of France and Spain. Around our islands it is com- 
mon, extending to St. Kilda and Shetland in the 
one direction, and to the Isle of Wight in the other ; 
it is also frequent on the coasts of Ireland. We have 
observed it chiefly in the islands in the Firth of 
Forth. It sometimes breeds in fissures of the rocks; 
but its most general resort is in holes or burrows, 
either formed by itself, or supplied by rabbits if 
they happen to be inhabitants of the same locality. 
On the Bass Rock, the holes in the ruins of the old 
fortifications afford a retreat, burrows being also 
made in the shelving ground in front of the build- 
ing, and which is almost the only station for them 
on this rock. On a small rocky island, opposite the 
