10 



THE OOLOlxlST 



Prof. E. F. Hitchings and others, who 

 A'isit these islands nearly every season, 

 have since informed me that they also 

 have taken skins and eggs of Common 

 Terns only, so the Arctics must have 

 sought other nesting places of late 

 years. 



After preparing the birds I bad shot, 

 so I could transport them safely, I 

 started to collect a few of the hand- 

 somest sets of eggs. The nests were 

 placed everywhere on the ground above 

 high tide level, being scattered over 

 the surface of the entire island. The 

 great majority of the eggs were depos- 

 ited in slight hollows in the ground, 

 which were dug by the birds, but a few 

 nests were fairly well construtced of 

 dry grass. Many sets of two eggs 

 were seen; a majority consisted of 

 three, while a few were of four and five. 

 I have a set of live all alike in color 

 and markings; without doubt these 

 were the product of one bird. Six 

 «ggs is the largest number I have ever 

 known to be found in one nest; these 

 wei'e of two styles of markings, and be- 

 yond a doubt laid by two birds. Three 

 eggs is the normal complement in most 

 ■cases, but in cases where the birds have 

 been often robbed the third or fourth 

 laying will sometimes consist of one 

 fgg only. 



A party who visited this island in 

 August '95 reported nests containing 

 one or two eggs at that late date while 

 young birds in the down were reported 

 as common. 



When I had collected a few sets of 

 the Terns eggs, I started to search for 

 the nests of some Red breasted Mergan- 

 sers, as I had noticed three or four of 

 these birds leave the island on my ap- 

 proach. One nest was found but some 

 vandal had been there before me, and 

 tinding the eggs advanced in incuba- 

 tion so as to be unfit to eat this un- 

 known rascal had dropped a large 

 stone into the nest, smashing the eggs 

 to a paste. 



Many parties visit this group of is- 



lands to collect eggs for eating, and 

 when they lind incubated eggs these 

 are usually ijroken without delay so as 

 to ensure a fresh supply later on. 

 They never allow any eggs to hatch if 

 they can prevent it, and it is only a 

 matter of time when the Terns will be 

 exterminated along our coast, unless 

 stringent protective measures are 

 adopted and enforced. If the tishei- 

 men were allowed to take eggs only 

 in the month of June, so that the birds 

 could rear their young undisturbed 

 after this month, then doubtless thej' 

 would be able to hold their own. 



I searched in vain for another Mer- 

 ganser's nest, and as in the meanwhile 

 Captain Conary had taken advantage 

 of a breeze to sail up to the island I 

 was soon on board the boat which was 

 headed towards headquarters at Sun- 

 shine. 



The next day was occupied in pre- 

 paring the specimens taken on the day 

 before, but on June 26lh we again 

 made an early start to visit the haunts 

 of the American Herring Gulls and 

 Black Guillemots. Oar tirst landing 

 was made on Spirit Ledge, a small 

 rocky island, and as we stepped ashore 

 numerous Gulls rose into the air and 

 lifted up their voices, making a loud 

 cry to greet us. Their nests were loos-e 

 affairs of dry gi-ass, placed on the 

 ground everywhere and containing 

 two, thi'ee, and in a few cases four eggs 

 which varied in color from bluish-white 

 to a brownish shade, variously spotted 

 and blotched with dark-colored mark- 

 ings of a brownish or blackish color. 

 Some nests were well made affairs con- 

 structed of dry grass, seaweed and fair- 

 ly well lined witth feathers, but such 

 were an exception. 



While collecting a few of the hand- 

 somest sets, I Hushed a female Ameri- 

 can Eider from a clump of weeds at my 

 feet, and her nest of down containing 

 six drab- colored eggs was revealed to 

 ray gaze. While I was securing this 

 prize. Captain Conary found a set of 



