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THE STORY OF THE BIRDS. 
Puffin—The most grotesque of all birds are the puffins, or sea-parrots, 
as they are sometimes called. Their great orange-red beaks, with bands of 
slaty-gray and yellow, seem out of all proportion to their heads. The Arctic 
puffin is the best-known member of the family. It is about the size of a teal. 
In plumage it resembles the guilemot, with the sides of the head white and 
the throat encircled by dark red. The puffin is a deep-sea bird and is both 
an expert swimmer and diver. Its single egg is laid either in a burrow in 
the ground or among the deep clefts of rocks. The egg is dull white, faintly 
spotted with gray and brown. 
Razor-Billed Auk—This bird differs from the other members of its family 
by its smaller size, well-developed wings and shorter beak. Its length is 
about seventeen inches. It has no large white spot in front of the eye 
like the great auk, but in summer it has a narrow white line extending from 
the beak to the eye. In its summer dress, the chin and throat are brown, 
the head, high neck and upper parts black, with the under parts white; 
in its winter dress, the white extends upward to the throat, chin and sides 
of the head and the plumage of the upper parts is browner. The razor-bill 
is found on the coast and islands of both sides of the North Atlantic. It 
deposits its eggs on high ledges of rocks, preferring to deposit them in a 
crevice. 
Little Bustard—This bird is much smaller in size than the great bustard 
and the male lacks the mustache found in the other species. In length it 
measures only seventeen inches. In summer the upper plumage is buffish- 
brown mixed with black, and two black and two white gorgets on the lower 
neck and breast. It is found in some localities in Europe and Central Asia, 
ranging into India and Northern Africa. It migrates in flocks of millions 
to and from its winter and summer homes. 
In many of their habits they resemble the great bustards. Their flight is 
very different, and they often rise to a great height, and will flutter and twist 
about in the air. At other times, however, they fly rapidly and straight; and 
when on the wing always call continually. Wary in the cool of the morning 
and evening, during the 'heat of the day they lie close in the mustarcl-fields, 
which are their favorite haunts in the Punjab. They rise suddenly with a 
great pat-pat of the wings; and, though quite invisible till they rise, startle 
one with the great breadth of pure white they suddenly reveal, the whole of 
the secondaries and much of the primaries being white. 
Common Bittern—The “boom” of the bittern is a familiar sound in the 
vicinity of swamps and marshes. Where these have been drained the bird 
