THE OSPEEY. 



133 



them. While flying- to and from the roost the 

 adult and immature birds remained separate. 

 An adult male measured from tip of bill to end 

 of tail 26.75 inches, and spread 42 inches, while 

 an immature male was just one inch longer and 

 half an inch more between tips of expanded 

 wings. 



While standing by the riverside one day I 

 saw a line of these birds down the river. In- 

 stantly I thought of the gun, but it was too far 

 to fetch in time; then the camera was thought 

 of, but it could not be used for the same reason, 

 consequently I could do nothing but watch. It 

 was a most beautiful sight to see a line of these 

 pure white birds stretching in a slightly wavy 

 line entirely across the river, some seventy 

 yards, and swooping down on one, and not six 

 feet above the water. As it was useless to do 

 anything else I stood perfectly motionless in 

 full view, and the line of beautiful birds passed 

 directly in front of me, the nearest not five feet 

 away. Most of the birds never noticed me, but 

 the three or four nearest, especially the end one, 

 seemed a little suspicious, for they turned their 

 heads slightly and examined me as they passed. 

 It was the moment of a lifetime, and I never 

 more regretted that my gun was far away tho' 

 I wished almost as much that I had a camera; 

 if I had, however, my movements would proba- 

 bly have caused them t<> swerve off long before 

 they reached me. 



8. Wood Ibis. ( Tantalus loculator). 

 About seven birds seen, all flying. 



9. Amekichn Bittern. (Botaurus lentigino- 

 sus). 



Seldom" seen; but often heard "booming" 

 during the latter part of our stay. 



10. Great White Heron. (Ardea occidenta- 

 lism. 



Several seen in Cypress Lake on February 26. 



11. Ward's Heron. (Ardea wardi). 

 A few seen at intervals. 



12. Kcrett. (Ardea egretta). 



A colony was noticed at one place, and scat- 

 tered individuals were seen usually about the 

 ponds on the Osceola side of the river. 



13. Snowy Egrett. (Grazetta candidissima). 

 One certainly identified, came several times 



to a small pond in the pines near Lake Kissim- 

 niee. 



14. Reddish Egrett. (Dichromanassa ru- 

 fescens. 



Several seen nearly everyday while about the 

 river, usually in pairs. 



15. Louisiana Heron. (Hydranassa tricolor 

 i uficollis). 



The most common Heron. Specimens taken 

 as late as March 20, though laying or about to 

 lay, were not in full plumage. While creeping' 

 on some ducks that were in the shallow water 

 adjoining a prarie. I noticed several of these 

 Herons that were watching' my movements. 

 Tiny stood in the water perfectly erect with the 

 bill pointed skyward and I could distinctly see 

 the movements of their eyeballs as they watched 

 me, their body being perfectly motionless. 

 They evidently thought themselves unseen or 

 were deeply attracted by the peculiar creeping' 

 thing. 



(To be Continued. ) 



A VISIT To OTTER RUCK, PACIFIC OCEAN. 



"Among the Sea Birds". 



By A. G. Prii.l, M. D., Scio, Oregon. 



Otter Rock is a barren rock about thirteen 

 miles north of Newport, Oregon, and about a 

 mile and a half at sea opposite Cape Foul- 

 weather. The entire area of this rock isperhaps 

 half an acre and, as will be seen by the accom- 

 panying photograph, consists of a high almost 

 perpendicular rock, and a lower or flat portion 

 which is covered at high tide. The higher part 

 is perhaps one hundred to one hundred and fifty 

 feet high, rising on nearly all sides perpendicu- 

 larly from the ocean. This rock is the breeding- 

 place of many sea birds and it is of a visit to 

 this place in quest of specimens that I am about 

 to relate. 



On June 27, 1899, in company with Doctor 

 Hill of Albany, I reached Newport and during 

 the evening-' we made a small collection of star- 

 fish which are very numerous there. Strolling 

 up the beach we watched the many hundreds of 

 Sea Gulls and other sea birds. That evening 

 we engaged a man to take us to the light house, 

 a distance of five miles, the following morning. 

 So on Wednesday morning we were astir early 

 and soon arrived at Yaguina head-light house. 

 Here we had the pleasure of meeting B. J. 

 Bretherton. First Assistant, a naturalist 



through and through to whose kindness and 

 daring, I am indebted for the specimens we 

 secured. 



Near the light house, on perpendicular walls 

 of rock, many Violet-green Cormorants nested. 

 As we were desirous of securing eggs of these 

 birds, Mr. Bretherton would not consent to our 

 leaving until supplied. So starting out with 

 one hundred feet of good rope, we soon reached 

 the cliffs, and friend Bretherton was lowered 

 over them, -u-pended in mid air between ocean 

 and sky. Five sets of eggs of the Violet-green 

 Cormorant were secured after several descents. 

 Three sets contained four eggs each, and two 

 sit- three. Their color is dirty white with a 

 slight greenish tinge, and they are covered with 

 a chalky deposit. The eggs are slightly more 

 pointed at one end than the other. The size 

 which is a fair average, of set % is as follows: 

 2.24 x 1.48; 2.08 x 1.36; 2.28 x 1.44; 2.11 x 1-37. 



Returning to the light house, we made ar- 

 rangements to visit Otter Rock on the follow- 

 ing day, and again secured the valuable assist- 

 ance of Mr. Bretherton for the proposed trip. 

 We went back to Newport well pleased with our 

 day's work, and engaged three expert seamen 



