258 Dr» Bryant on the Birds 



of their visits, but to show with how much caution the results of 

 any individual's experience should be received as positive evidence 

 in Natural History. 



As Audubon has generally given the average dimension only of 

 the eggs of the birds described by him, which aflfords but a very in- 

 correct idea of the variation in size and shape, I have made careful 

 measurement of the extremes in length, breadth, and size of the 

 eggs of all the varieties procured by me, not, however, including 

 those which were evidently abnormal. In this class, I found eggs 

 of the common Cormorant and Herring Gull ; they were not more 

 than one quarter of the average size, without exception contained 

 nothing but albumen, and the shell was remarkably thick and 

 strong. One Qgg of the Cormorant was not symmetrical in its 

 longitudinal axis, and had the appearance of having been de- 

 posited in a soft state on a convex surface ; in other respects it 

 presented nothing remarkable. I have been lead to make these 

 remarks because Naumann, in his description of the eggs of Uria 

 troillef states that the eggs of very small size are found, caused by 

 the birds laying more than their normal number. I do not think 

 that this is the cause, as the eggs found by me were in nests with 

 other eg2js that presented no deviation from the ordinary shape 



or size. 



Sometaria moUissima, Linn. This bird though constantly 

 harassed by the fishermen and inhabitants, still breeds in great 

 abundance along the whole extent of the North shore, and, as it is 

 not gregarious during the breeding season, and ranges over such an 

 immense extent of island and shore, it will probably continue to 

 do so, even if unprotected, for many years. I found but few of 

 their nests, placed under the shelter of the dwarf firs and junipers; 

 their favourite breeding-blaces seemed to be the small grassy 

 islands found in bays, and particularly those where small spots of 

 turf were protected by a rock from the prevailing wind. On many 

 of the islands a species of umbelliferous plant grows abundantly, the 

 thick foliage of which forms an admirable shelter that they gladly 

 avail themselves of. It is not often that many nests are found 

 on one island ; from one to a dozen is the ordinary number, 

 though on Greenlet Island, in the Straits of Belle Isle, I 

 found over sixty, probably not more than a quarter of the whole 

 number, as two other persons besides myself were searching for 

 them at the same time, and it is not probable that all the nests 

 would be discovered ; indeed, I found nearly as many returning 



