248 
THE PUFFIN. 
by no means merits its character for stupidity, as 
those who have the most experienced fowlers find 
it a very difficult matter to catch them, except by 
means of snares laid near their nests. 
Closely allied with these, and by many naturalists 
more or less associated with them, are the Alca 
tribes, comprising, amongst other birds, our Razor- 
bills and Puffins, which, although not generally 
scattered over our shores, are found in prodigious 
numbers on certain favourite spots, which they have 
from time immemorial selected for themselves. One 
of the most frequented spots for the latter is Puffin 
Island, near Beaumaris ; though further towards the 
north, they are still more widely spread, and may be 
found, during the breeding season, in still greater 
abundance. They are often called Sea-Parrots, from 
the peculiar form of a beak, capable of inflicting 
very severe wounds, and of which they make 
great use, sometimes to their own disadvantage, as 
the following singular mode of taking them, which 
does not seem confined to our own country, will 
fully prove. 
“ In Iceland," says Dr. Henderson, in his mis- 
sionary travels to that island, “ they are caught by 
means of a hook fastened to the end of a stick ; and 
what is singular, when one is dragged out, his com- 
panions take hold of him, and endeavour to retain 
him ; by which means they are often caught to the 
number of three or four at a time.” 
“ In Norway,” says Colonel Brooke, “ Puffins 
breed in great numbers on the rocks ; and the mode 
of catching them is precisely the same as that adopted 
in the northern parts of Great Britain, with the ex- 
