Jones — On Washington Coast Birds. 5 



through these burrows and take a headlong tumble. In climb- 

 ing such a steep slope the mouths of the burrows afford a com- 

 fortable foothold. In descending such a slope rapidly you are 

 more than hkely to have the leg bearing the most strain 

 bumped just behind the knee by a frightened bird as it rushes 

 headlong from its nest. 



Carroll Islet. Figure 3 



Tutted I'litiiii. (Lniula cinhata). About half of the 

 usual numbers, seeu here. > 



One of our pleasant surprises with these birds was the find- 

 ing of some nests beneath the thickly matted salal buslhes, but 

 without the semblance of a burrow. Clearly the birds' consid- 

 ered the bushes a sufficient protection from marauding ene- 

 mies, and were content to simply arrange their nest material 

 upon the ground. The egg in the illustration is in such a nest. 

 If birds reared in such nests could be tagged and so recog- 

 nized on their return, it would be interesting to note whether 

 they adopted the modified nesting habits of their parents or re- 

 verted to the ancestral method of burrowing. 



The nest material was such as could be picked up within a 

 few feet of the nest or the mouth of the nest burrow, and was 

 merely arranged into a mat and trodden down in the middle. 

 A single egg is deposited, and there is no evidence that there 



