Allen’s naturalist’s library. 
ii6 
individuals which match the Western American ones in every 
respect, and I do not consider that the two races can be 
separated. 
Habits.— Although the Guillemot returns to its breeding 
stations in vast numbers in the summer, I believe that there are 
many individuals that do not breed at all, for I have seen 
plenty of them in June at least one hundred miles from land, 
swimming about in the middle of the sea, and resting on the 
water in the laziest manner. In calm weather they even sleep 
in the middle of the summer’s day, so that on more than one 
occasion the bow of the steamer was upon them ere they 
hurriedly woke up and dived to a safer distance. 
I quote Seebohm’s account of the habits of the Guillemot 
on the Fames. He had in his possession some beautiful 
paintings of the bird-life on these islands, and the journals 
of his visits to this locality were always very interesting 
reading. He describes the nesting of the Guillemot as 
follows : — 
“ For the greater part of the year the Guillemot’s haunt is 
the open sea ; but in the breeding season it retires landwards to 
its favDurite cliffs and rocky islets. A nursery of these birds 
presents one of the most interesting phases of bird-life. 
Whether it be the brave Tild headland cliffs of Flamborough 
Head and Bempton, the curious ‘ Pinnacles ’ at the Fames, 
the rugged coasts of Wales, the innumerable nurseries on the 
Scottish rocks and islets, or a ‘ fugleyoer’ among the Nonvegian 
Fjords all possess abundant attractions for the naturalist, and 
well repay repeated visits. 
“ So soon as the breeding-season has passed, even before the 
young birds have fully gained the use of their wings, the 
Guillemots forsake the cliffs and spend the rest of the year upon 
the open sea. A rocky shore is now no more attraction to them 
than a low and sandy one, and they may be frequently seen in 
the sea off such low-lying coasts as those of I.incoln and Norfolk. 
The Guillemot is to some extent a migratory bird, but is, 
perhaps, better described as a wandering one, straying hundreds, 
even thousands, of miles from its breeding-place and its true 
home. Certain it is, we know on good authority, that the birds 
are never seen on the cliffs at Flamborough or at the Fames for 
several months after the young are reared. On Heligoland the 
