-42 



THE MUSEUM. 



captured and are said to bite to the 

 bone if once they secure a hold. One 

 egg is laid, which is of a . dull white 

 color usually marked with a few indis- 

 tinct lilac or brown under shell mark- 

 ings, although occasionally eggs are 

 found which have quite a heavy wreath 

 about the large end. A series of these 

 eggs exhibit great variation as to shape, 

 size and coloration. The eggs are de- 

 posited in burrows in the cliffs, with a 

 little weed sometimes used for a nest. 

 The Auklet is a fairly abundant spec- 

 ies on the island and prefers the lower 

 portions on which to nest. Here it is 

 found in deserted rabbit burrows be- 

 neath the rocks and in all probability 

 it often excavates its own burrows. It 

 also nests about among the cliffs re- 

 sorting to any crevice or tunnel in the 

 rocks which may offer a dark retreat 

 during the day, for it is nocturnal in 

 habits. The single egg laid on the 

 bare ground is large for the size of the 

 bird. Seven eggs from my collection 

 average i. 8 ix. 31 inches, and vary in 

 shape from equal-ended to sharply 

 pointed. 



The burrows occupied by the Auk- 

 lets are usually filthy, and are easily 

 discovered by the odor which arises. 

 On June 19th a small colony of young 

 Auklets was discovered, the birds rang- 

 ing from a week old to almost full 

 grown, although all had more or less 

 down on them. 



The "Sea Pigeons" or Pigeon Guil- 

 lemots are among the most interesting 

 of the birds. They are lovers of the 

 sea and prefer the rocks near the surf 

 when not incubating their eggs. We 

 were fortunate in discovering a rookery 

 of these birds, and had it not been late 

 for fresh eggs a splendid series could 

 have been secured. The hill at the 



summit of which is the lighthouse, is 

 very steep and the cliffs at the top are 

 more or less honeycombed with bur- 

 rows in which the Puffins and Auklets 

 nest. Farther down is a stretch of 

 loose shifting chips of rock while near 

 the bottom are numerous bowlders, 

 some of gigantic proportions, under 

 and between which are cavities in 

 which the Guillemots nest. As one 

 approaches this rookery many of the 

 birds are seen sitting upright, softly 

 "whistling," but upon close approach 

 those on the rocks take wing while 

 their mates flutter from among the 

 rocks and join them. Then by a care- 

 ful search of promising looking cavities 

 one ma}' secure a nice series. These 

 eggs are to my mind the handsomest 

 of any of the Farallone eggs. In a 

 series before me are several types. 

 Some have a bluish-green ground color, 

 intensely blotched with dark brown es- 

 pecially about the large end with deli- 

 cate markings of lilac throughout. 

 Others are evenly spotted with small 

 dots of cinnamon-brown and lilac. 

 Again another type has yellowish 

 ground with light-brown splashes and 

 lilac-gray, while a third set is plain 

 bluish-white. 



Two eggs usually constitute a set 

 but in a number of cases one egg was 

 found badly incubated. No nest is 

 constructed in which to deposit the 

 eggs but almost invariably the eggs re- 

 pose upon a collection of small granite 

 chips or pebbles gathered by the birds. 

 Both birds assist at incubation, and I 

 have a male bird taken with a set of 

 two eggs. The rookery described is 

 not near the ocean but many of the 

 Guillemots nest in holes in the cliffs 

 above the sea. At any time groups of 

 birds ma\- be seen gathered on the 



