Page:Cassell's book of birds (IA cassellsbookofbi04breh).pdf/294

 be taken away, the mother lays a second, and, if deprived of that, a third, generally in the same hole. If both parents are destroyed, other birds will supply their places, and voluntarily devote themselves both to the incubation of the egg and the rearing of the young. The owners of the localities where these birds build make them a source of considerable profit; they always rob the birds of their first egg, but generally leave the second to be hatched and reared; as soon as it is nearly fledged, however, it likewise is taken possession of, and thousands upon thousands are thus killed and salted for winter food.

In the Fern Islands, there being no rabbit-holes, these Puffins are obliged to dig their own burrows. According to Mr. Selby, this operation is commenced in May, a hole being generally excavated to a depth of three feet, often in a curving direction, and occasionally with two entrances. So intent are the birds upon their work of digging, which is generally performed by the males, that they will sometimes allow themselves to be captured by the hand; the same authority states that a similar indifference to what is passing around them is noticeable during the business of incubation. In St. Kilda, where their return is hailed with joy as affording an abundant supply of food, they are taken both by hand and by means of a horsehair noose, attached to the end of a rod. The Coulternebs can scarcely be called birds of passage, although during the winter season many of them journey far south; strictly speaking, they only migrate from their breeding-places to the open sea, and hence back again to the cliffs and islands, where they rear their young. Their life, indeed, may be considered as consisting of two epochs, viz., their summer residence upon the rocks, and their winter life upon the ocean; of this latter part of their existence we have still much to learn. Our first acquaintance with the Coulternebs began in the vicinity of Loffoden, and the first circumstance which arrested our attention was the manner of their flight over the sea, keeping so close to the waves that they had rather the appearance of skating over the surface than of flying through the air. The bird, in fact, in these peregrinations avails itself both of its feet and wings, sliding as it were quickly from wave to wave, half flying and half swimming, striking the air with its wings and the water with its feet, and advancing by a sort of undulating course that exactly follows the contour of the rising and sinking waves. During this remarkable kind of progression the beak seems to be employed in cleaving the water, reminding the spectator of the Scissor-bill (Rhynchops). When it rises from the waves, however, it flies straight on with untiring wings, and moves so rapidly that the sportsman who first tries his hand at shooting them generally fails to hit the mark. In its mode of swimming, the Coulterneb differs altogether from any other bird of its race; it rides lighter upon the wave, or sinks at will to any required depth, dives without the slightest apparent exertion, and without even disturbing the water around it, It will remain submerged for upwards of three minutes, and, if we believe the statements of some observers, will plunge to a depth of thirty fathoms. Upon dry land it walks well, but with a hopping vacillating step; rises at once from its seat into the air, and alights from its flight without difficulty. When at rest it usually sits upright upon the soles of its feet and tail, or else it lies flat on its belly upon the surface of the rock. When sitting erect, its head and neck are in constant motion, as though it were perpetually looking for something that it had lost, giving it a most comical appearance. Its voice is a sort of deep scream at times it resembles the sound made by a man when yawning, or by a discontented dog. The food of the Coulternebs consists of crustaceans and small fishes; but it is principally with the latter that they feed their young. What may be the special use of the curiously-constructed beak it is not easy to say; all that we know upon the subject is that they are able to use it with great adroitness, both while procuring their usual food, and when lopping the green herbage, which in summer scantily clothes the rocky fastnesses where they rear their young. As a weapon of defence, both from the sharpness of its edges and the strength of its muscles, it is really formidable.