TUFTED MORMON, OR PUFFIN. 539 



retiring at night and in stormy weather into burrows or clefts of rocks, 

 in which also they breed in dense societies, generally digging out 

 holes in which to nest with the aid of their bill and claws ; laying 

 but a single large egg : they are affectionate parents, and boldly de- 

 fend their young. They are seen flying among the rocks only when 

 engaged in feeding their brood; after they are reared, the whole 

 community often migrate to other places, and in winter they partially 

 proceed to milder climates. They swim and dive with the utmost 

 dexterity, and walk better than the allied genera, though not well ; 

 their flight is also short and contracted, they skim low over the wa- 

 ter, assisting their progress by striking the surface with their feet, 

 and rarely rise to any greater height. They feed on Crustacea, mol- 

 lusca, and other small marine animals, as well as on some sea-weeds, 

 and cut their food with their sharp bill previous to swallowing it. 



The Puffins are found in the high latitudes of the whole northern 

 hemisphere. There are only 3 well ascertained species, and the 

 whole exist in North America. 



TUFTED MORMON, or PUFFIN. 



(Mormon cirrhatus, Temm. Bonap. Synops. p. 429. No. 378. jilca 

 drrhata, Pallas, Spicil. Zool. fascic. v. p. 7. tab. 1. Lath. 3. 

 Tufted Auk, Penn. Arct. Zool. ii. p. 225. No. 432. . Buff. PL 

 Enlum. 761. Fratercula drrhata, Vieill. Gal. des Ois. pi. 296. 

 [adult].) 



Sp. Charact. — Blackish, quill shafts white ; eye-brows white, pen- 

 dently tufted behind ; the bill moderately compressed, furnished 

 at base with a horny sheath, upper mandible only, grooved. — 

 In the young the bill is smooth, and the head destitute of orna- 

 ments. 



This singular species inhabits the shores of Kamtschatka, 

 the Kurile and other intervening islands between Asia and 

 America, on the western coast of which they are also not 

 uncommon in the winter. According to Mr. Audubon, an 

 individual of this species has been killed at the mouth of 

 Kennebeck river, in Maine. In its manners it resembles 



