of the Gulj of St. Lawre7ice, 261 



half as many move breed upon the remaining portion of the rock 

 and on the Little Bird. 



All the birds I saw were in adult plumage, differing in this res- 

 pect from those breeding in the Bay of Fundy, where many were 

 young birds. The egg of the American bird has not, I think, 

 been described. Audubon was unable, on account of the weather, 

 to ascend the rock, and I think his description was without doubt 

 taken from a European specimen. 



In shape and general appearance the egg is more like that of 

 the brown Pelican than of any other North American bird, and 

 it is sometimes stained with blood, as that commonly is. The 

 cretaceous or calcareous coating is thicker than it is on the egg of 

 any other bird that I am acquainted with, and it is very generally 

 marked with scratches and furrows, as if deposited in a soft state ; 

 in one specimen this coating is two millimetres in thickness, 

 nearly one twelfth of an inch ; so that the egg, though emptied 

 of its contents, feels nearly as heavy as an ordinary one that has 

 not been blown. In shape there is a greater tendency to elonga- 

 tion or flattening of the ellipse than in the Pelicans. The color 

 when first laid is a chalky white, which soon becomes a dirty 

 drab. 



Four eggs selected from many hundreds gave the following 

 measurements : 89 x 45j mill. — 84 x 52 — 66 x 48 — 6Y^ x 42. 



Phalacrocorax carbo, Linn. On the 26th of June I had the 

 pleasure of visiting, for the first time, a breeding-place of this 

 species. It was situated on the south side of the rocky wall that 

 bounds the gulf at Wapitaguan, and is probably much the same 

 as it was twenty-seven years ago at the time of Audubon's visit ; 

 it extends for nearly half a mile along the face of the cliff, which 

 is there from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in height, not 

 perfectly vertical, but falling back slightly towards the land as it 

 rises. Although not by any means easy of access, it is yet much 

 less dangerous than Gannet Rock, as the smallest projection can 

 be depended on, and the rough surface of the granite enables one 

 to crawl over it without fear of slipping. As the eggs are net 

 considered worth collecting, and it requires a good deal of time 

 and patience to ascend the precipice, the birds had not, I think, 

 been disturbed before my visit. The nests were built precisely as 

 described by Audubon, and placed wherever there was any room 

 for them. Some of them contained half-grown young, and others 

 were but just finished, but by far the larger number either young 



