158 
THE BLACK GUILLEMOT. 
reported by a stranger from the “ far west,” who, it seems, talked of things 
which he had not read of before. 
Whilst in Labrador, I was delighted to see with what judgment the Black 
Guillemot prepares a place for its eggs. Whenever the spot chosen happens 
to be so situated as to preclude damp, not a pebble does the bird lay there, 
and its eggs are placed on the bare rock. It is only in what I call cases of 
urgency that this trouble is taken. About fifty or sixty pebbles or bits of 
stone are then used, and the number is increased or diminished according 
to circumstances. 
The eggs of this species, which appear disproportionately large, measure 
two inches and three-eighths in length, by an inch and five-eighths in 
breadth. Their form is regular ; they are rather rough to the touch, although 
not granulated ; their ground colour an earthy white, thickly blotched with 
very dark purplish-black, the markings larger and closer towards the great 
end, which, however, is generally left free of them. The shell is much 
thinner than that of the egg of the Foolish Guillemot or Razor-billed Auk. 
As an article of food they are excellent, being delicate and nutritious. 
The parents pluck the feathers from a space across the lower part of their 
belly, as soon as incubation commences ; and this bare place, when the bird 
is taken alive, it immediately conceals by drawing the feathers of the upper 
part of the abdomen over it, as if it were anxious that it should not be 
observed. When driven from the nest, the Black Guillemot at once runs 
out of its hiding-place and flies to the water, on which it plays, bathes as it 
were, dives a few times, and anxiously watches your retreat, after which it 
soon returns and resumes the arduous task of incubation. 
The young, which are at first quite black, are covered with soft down, 
and emit, although in an under tone, the same lisping notes as their parents. 
Their legs, feet, and bill are black. The red colour of the legs of the old 
birds is much brighter during the breeding-season than at any other time, 
and the mouth also is bright red. About the first of August the Guillemots 
lead their progeny to the water, and although at this time neither old' nor 
young are able to fly, they dive deeply and with great ease, which enables 
them to procure abundance of food, for at this season, lints, shrimps, and 
marine insects are plentiful in all the waters. 
While in Labrador, I made a severe experiment to ascertain how long the 
Black Guillemot could live without food, — an experiment on which I have 
never since been able to think, without some feeling of remorse. I confined 
a pair of them in the fissure of a rock for many days in succession. After 
the entrance was securely closed, I left the place, and for eight days the 
wind blew so hard that no boat was safe on the waters without the harbour. 
Many a time I thought of the poor captives, and at last went to their retreat 
