72 b' REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 18& 



to keep still must be strong in the little Gannets, for often but a few 

 inches lie between them and destruction, some of the rocky shelves 

 being so narrow as to cause one to wonder how eggs and young escape 

 being swept off' by wind and rain. 



Perce or Arch Bock, is a vertical mass of rock, 288 feet high, and ap- 

 parently inaccessible, although some years ago an enterprising fisher- 

 man succeeded in reaching the summit,* then as now occupied by birds. 

 The greater part of these are Cormorants (Phalacrocorax dilophus), but 

 a few Gulls (Larus argentatus) mingle with them, and two Blue Herons 

 (Ardea herodias) were also seen. The Cormorants are said to feed 

 largely on the refuse of the fish dressed for drying by the Perce fisher- 

 men, but numbers may be seen in the morning starting outfor more dis- 

 tant fishing grounds. It was to intercept some of these birds, and to 

 collect any others that were to be obtained, that early in the morning 

 we started for Arch Island, where long before daybreak the gulls had 

 begun their clamor. The gull is ever complaining about something, 

 and at almost any hour of the night the querulous cry of some wakeful 

 bird may be heard. At the Miugan Islands the gulls and terns had 

 been a decided nuisance, following us everywhere in a clamorous crowd, 

 by cry and action pointing out our whereabouts to the ever suspicious 

 seals. Now we found them circling around the island, along whose 

 lofty summit the cormorants were arrayed in straggling groups of three 

 or four, craning their long necks over the edge of the cliff. Some were 

 already returning from fishing trips, while others were starting out 

 for their morning work, winging their way with out-stretched necks and 

 heavy wing-beats, their black forms sharply outlined against the morn- 

 ing sky. Fishing-boats were putting off from shore, their black hulls, 

 and red, tanned sails adding to the picturesqueness of the scene, while 

 the bold, red summit of Perce Mountain shone brilliantly over all. In 

 the role of collector, however, the birds had prior claims to our atten- 

 tion, and before breakfast several cormorants and guillemots (Cepphus 

 grylle) were secured, these last being the first adults of the species taken 

 since leaving the Magdalens. The little guillemots are wonderfully ex- 

 pert swimmers and divers, and in rough water their small size frequently 

 enables them to elude pursuit, even when they do not take wing. On 

 this occasion, however, the water was smooth, the birds could be read- 

 ily discerned whenever they rose to the surface, and pursuers and pur- 

 sued were more on an equality than is usually the case. 



Although a few petrels and phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius) were 

 taken on the homeward voyage, the work of collecting practically ended 

 with our morning excursion at Perce. Naturally the most valuable por- 

 tion of the collection consisted of the remains of the Great Auk, which, 

 as indicated by the humeri, represented over seven hundred individ- 

 uals. The humerus, however, is by far the most abundant bone, some 



* See " St. Nicholas" for — 1889, p. — 



