GANNETS ON THE COAST OF CANADA 305 



were 10,000 birds, they would be divided up about as 

 follows : — 



2,500 Gannets, 



2,000 Kittiwakes, 



1,800 Razorbills, 



1,600 Briinnich's Murres, 



1,400 Murres {Uria troth), 



100 Ringed Murres, 



600 Puffins. 



" Practically all of the broader ledges were occupied by 



large nesting colonies of Gannets sitting as close as they 



could sit, often two or three rows deep, and many of the 



smaller or narrower ledges which were large enough to 



support their nests were occupied by them. They were 



decidedly the most conspicuous and striking features on 



the Rock, which may have led to our overestimating their 



abundance. Their nests varied greatly in size and style 



of construction, from practically nothing to well-made nests 



eighteen inches in diameter and five inches high. But as 



a rule they were fairly well made of fresh seaweed, kelp and 



rockweed, in many cases still wet, as if recently pulled up 



by the birds, but generally they were more or less dry. 



There were usually a few straws and feathers in and about 



the nests, and once a large piece of canoe birch-bark had been 



wrought in, probably as an ornament. There was always 



w 



