1:28 



OIlNn ll<)L(XilST 



[Vol. H;-No. 8 



emeifie from the burrows. The Gulls are 

 socialile ami nest in colonie.-s, usually of einht 

 or ten pairs. Like most of the marine birds, 

 they spend little time in nest architecture. 

 Last year's nest will do, in most cases, and 

 this consists simply of a few handfuls of wceil 

 dumped down im tlie bare rock, and fashioned 

 internally and externally into a rudely circular 

 form. Unlike tlie Auks and Putlins, the Gulls 

 usually lay three eygs, most of which are 

 hatched and the fled;^lings reared, as the eggs 

 are useless for commercial purposes. 



The Cormorants form a very numerous 

 colony during the breeding season. Of all tlu^ 

 Farallon bints the Cormorants are the tamest 

 at tliis ])eric>d. If the visitor does not molest 

 the sitting bird as she springs up from the nest 

 and attempts to tly, the sitting process will be 

 resumed, the bird evidently fearing the rapacity 

 of the Gulls far more than the avarice or 

 cruelty of man. Three species of the bird 

 breed on the South Farallon. The Califoiuia 

 Brown Pelican, wliich is a sort of first cousin 

 to the Cormorant, has occasionally been seen. 



Tlie Guillemot, anotlier representative of tlie 

 Auk family, is very common on tlie Farallon 

 group in some seasons. It is the last to arrive. 

 Like most of the marine birds the legs are set 

 far back, the feet being intended for diving 

 and wading rather than for walking. Whereas 

 the Gulls swoop noisily around when visitors 

 land on the island, the (Tuillennits, Puftiiis and 

 Auks all adopt a perpendicular position and 

 preserve a most ludicrous gravity. Their 

 sharply contrasting bbick ,and white plumage 

 lends additional comicality to their appearan(H', 

 and tliey look like nothing so mueii as a row 

 of society dudes and mashers, with claw- 

 hammer coats and white vests. 



Tlie true Auks lay a single egg without any 

 marking whatever, and of all the visitors to 

 the islands they remain the latest. 



In some years the ordinary feathered visitors 

 to tlie Farallones are reinforced by many land 

 birds and guests from s(uit]iern climes. Among 

 them are tlie Merganser, the Scoter, the White- 

 faced Ibis, the (ireat Blue and Snowy Heron, 

 the Coot, the Northern Plialaroiie, the Sand- 

 piper, the Curlew, the Black Turnstcme, the 

 l.'cd-tailed Hawk, the Prairie Falcon, the 

 AiiU'iican Osprey, and the Raven. Scores of 

 smaller birds, tlie Finches, Larks, Catbirds, 

 Blueliirds and Sparrows, visit the islansl in 

 suniiuer, but the Hock Wren is the only small 

 bird wiiich breeds on the group. 



It is a, curious circumstance in connection 

 vvitli the eggs i>f tlie Murrc and its kindred 

 that th(< taste of consumers Iiecomes sated. In 

 the abstracrt the eggs are very cheap and con- 

 tain an immense amount of nutritions niitter 

 in a small compass, liut the rank lishy taste 

 cannot be banished by the highest culinary 

 skill, and the inference is that the bulk of the 

 eggs that find their way into the market are 

 put to some use of which the public is not 

 aware. Certainly very few indeed are con- 

 sumed as ordinary egg-; are consumed, even in 

 the p lorest San Franci.sco homes. Meansvhile 

 the dep.ipilatiin of the rookeries proceeds 

 year af'er year, absoliifely unchecked hy Federal 

 or .State Legi.slation. — .Sin Framdsco Clironiele. 



Enclosed you will find a clipping from the 

 Terra Haute (Ind.) Etrniwj Gazelle, of June 

 27. How is this for bugs ? 



)!''. IS. Vaulk, Terra Flaute. 



TuE BiOdEsT Biius. — Can a person believe 

 what his own eyes see ? is a <piestion fre- 

 <iuently asked. A Gazette writer could hardly 

 do so this morning when he strolled into the 

 water works building and there saw one of the 

 strangest phenomena that evi'r mortal eye 

 beheld. The west side of the new pump house 

 and the east and west walls of thi^ old building 

 were literally covered with long, dark-cidoreil 

 bugs. Besides the walls of the building the 

 large smoke stack, a telegraph pole and wire 

 near the building, the .steamers Mallard and 

 .luniatta, and Charles Baldwin's house-boat 

 lying in the water immediately north of the 

 water-works, were lost to view by the bugs. 

 In some places the insects were several inches 

 thick and it was impossible to discern whether 

 the buildings were of stone or brick. They 

 hung together like swarms of bees and ^\ hen 

 the wind blew they shook like a field of wheat. 

 The windows in the old pump house were left 

 open last night and the bugs swarmed in there 

 by the million.s. At an early hour this morn- 

 ing one of the niglit firemen went into tlu; 

 room (m an errand and had only gone a few 

 steps inside when he fell to the lloor in a faints 

 ing lit and had to be carried outside. The 

 bugs were ccmgrega.ted so thickly that it was 

 impossible tor a time to breathe. Another 

 incident illustrating the vast number of bugs 

 occurred shortly after. A fishing party intend- 

 ing to go down the river on the Jlalla.rd drove 

 up in wagons to the river liaiiks. They were 

 about to cdiiimence unloading some articles 

 ciut of the wagon when the insects swarmed 

 around them so thickly that they were coin- 

 lielled to desert their wagons and fiee. 



When the writer <'alled. Engineer Joe 

 McKinley was busily engaged in trying to wash 

 down the bugs with a hose. In this mann(U' 

 he succeeded in washing down the larger jxir- 

 tion of them, and in some places on the grcumd 

 wlieie they fell they were, without any exag- 

 geration, two feet deep. 



The inse(!ts resemble a butterfly in shape. 

 They are a fraction over an inch long and of 

 dark color with long thin tails. The bugs 

 commenced making their appearance at about 

 10 o'clock last night .and from then on till tliis 

 morning the heavens seemed to be raining 

 bugs. The number was still further iniaeased 

 by the insects hatching on the walls of the 

 building. 



The only name known for the insects is 

 "willow-bugs." "Willow-bugs" generally 

 swarm once a year, during a dry spell, but 

 they were never known to collect in such large 

 numbers before, nor were the bugs ever 

 noticed to be as large as now. 



The above is no hot weather canard but an 

 absolute fact, and all of the statements made 

 are corroborated by Engineer McKinley. 



We are imlebted to Messrs. Estes and I.nnriat, 

 publishers of Coues' Key. for loan i>f the culs 

 of Ptarmigan in this issue. 



