BIRD NOTES AFIELD 



to carry the plunder. Ropes, to which the men could cling 

 as they advanced, were secured to the rocks in the more peril- 

 ous places. The government has now wisely put a stop to 

 this traffic, which was rapidly depleting the islands of their 

 sea birds. 



As we started off, following the course of the eggers, the 

 gulls were by far the most conspicuous and noisy birds seen. 

 Their most common note may be expressed by the syllables 

 quock'k^ck-Wck-k^cky uttered very rapidly in a low, gutteral 

 tone. Sometimes it was varied thus — kucfi-k^ck-k^ck-k^^ — 

 the quality of tone being the same as in the first instance. Fre- 

 quently a higher cry would be heard which may be indicated 

 by the letters ki-'^a, with a strong accent on the first syllable. 

 Again, one would utter a rattling, gutteral cry, which sounded 

 like a man being throttled. The young were quite common 

 about the rocks, white in color, spotted all over with dusky 

 gray. Upon being approached they would run and attempt 

 to squeeze into any little cranny in the rocks they happened to 

 espy, but were very readily caught by hand. The nest is a 

 simple affair, composed of dry weeds, and placed almost any- 

 where upon a rocky hillside. No nests were observed on the 

 steep cliffs overhanging the sea, the favorite situation being a 

 hillside of moderate slope. The eggs are remarkably well 

 protected in color, and the nest itself is so trifling an affair 

 that it may frequently be almost stepped upon without being 

 discovered, unless the attention is especially directed toward 

 finding it. The birds are extremely noisy and vociferous as 

 long as an intruder remains in their territory, hovering over him 

 in large numbers and swooping down upon him with menacing 

 cries and gestures. Altogether, one feels more comfortable 



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