40 



THE MUSEUM. 



of them. They present great varia- 

 tion as do all Gull's eggs. In my se- 

 ries are eggs ranging from almost 

 white to intensely dark ones. During 

 the nesting season the Gulls become 

 quite tame and I secured several by 

 sitting down on the rocks waiting for 

 them to fly over. 



Perhaps the least approachable of 

 all are the Cormorants. They nest in 

 rookeries largely but almost any iso- 

 lated cliff will be found to hold a few 

 nests. The Brandts and Farallone 

 varieties are much alike in size but 



differ in the color of the gular patches. 

 In the former it is blue and in the 

 Farallone species it is yellow. When 

 the latter are flying high in air this 

 patch is easily discernable. Both 

 these Cormorants nest in large rook- 

 eries usually on a sloping bluff or hill- 

 side which commands a view of the 

 surrounding territory. In one rookery 

 of the Farallone species I estimated 

 there were about 200 nests. They 

 were placed in irregular rows and were 

 about a foot apart. They measured 

 on an average nine inches across and 



Typical nest and 



\vere shallow, being composed of sea 

 weed and farallone weed. They were 

 compact and more or less cemented 

 by the guano. The Cormorants are 

 easily alarmed when they have fresh 

 eggs and if a few of the rookery take 

 wing all will follow and after circling 

 for a few moments in the air they 

 soar out over the ocean and settle in 

 a compact flock, where they remain 

 until the intruder has disappeared. 



During the summer the eggers pass 

 these rookeries every other day and 

 every Cormorant th-at is in view will 

 take wing when the Gulls speedily 

 break the eggs and eat the contents. 



It seems strange that these foolish 

 birds will return day after day to their 



of the Western Gull. 



despoiled nests. Three or four eggs 

 are usually laid and sometimes five. 

 I took a set of six eggs of Brandt's 

 Cormorant in 1892 but they were too 

 badly incubated to save. The eggs 

 of the Farallone and Brandt species 

 are not distinguishable. Baird's Cor- 

 morant nests at most in colonies of 

 half a dozen pairs, usually selecting 

 some almost inaccessible cliff. Often 

 the nests are built in a niche in a per- 

 pejidicular cliff. The nests are small- 

 er than those of the preceding species 

 and are deeper and more compactly 

 put together. I have seen nests nine 

 inches high, but these had evidently 

 been inhabited for several successive 

 seasons. These birds select the wild- 



