A Common Guillemot’s ramphotheca

The coast of Westray is a great place to see the skeletons of birds. In particular, there are skulls littered across the rock paving stones on some of the wilder beaches and skulls blown against tussocks and low walls across the fields.

Guillemot Skull - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Some of them I pick up to look at and some I take back home for my skull collection. Yes, I’m a man with a skull collection. This is the skull of a Common Guillemot, Uria aalge. The lower jaw is still attached to the upper and it comes complete with the beak sheaths, the rhamphotheca. It’s incredibly light.

It’ll take pride of place on my mantlepiece.

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