82 
DIVING BIRDS AT THE ZOO 
the only appearance of the birds on the surface being 
made by one or two bounds from the depths, when 
the head and shoulders leap above the surface for a 
second and then disappear. Any attempt to remain 
on the surface leads to ludicrous splashing and con- 
fusion — for the submarine bird cannot float, it can 
only fly below the surface. Immediately the meal is 
finished, both penguins scramble out of the water, and 
shuffle with round backs and drooping wings back to 
their cage to dry and digest. 
The guillemots and puffins are some of the com- 
monest of English sea-fowl, and the last, with its 
short thick neck, large beak, and upright attitudes on 
land, is perhaps the nearest relative to the penguin 
among British birds, with the exception of the little 
auk. Like the penguins they fly below water, though, 
unlike them, they can also fly in the air, the puffin 
being almost the only English sea-fowl which is a 
true bird of passage, and yearly leaves the cliffs and 
islands where it breeds along our coasts, to spend the 
winter in the Mediterranean. The young puffin at 
the Zoo refuses to dive for fish at present, and only 
takes to the water when chased by its keeper. The 
guillemot is a far more graceful bird. Dark above and 
white below, with a long, slender, and curved beak, it 
combines the submarine powers of the penguin with 
the buoyant gracefulness of a water-hen when floating 
on the surface. Below water its movements are far 
more deliberate than those of the penguin. Like the 
water-hen, it can use its wings for aerial or aquatic 
