A TRIP TO THE FARALLONES 



ous cheek-patches of pure white, and plumes of pale yellow 

 streaming from the sides of the head. It is a comparatively- 

 solitary bird, but nests very commonly in narrow caves or cran- 

 nies of the rock, where it lays one large egg of a dirty whitish 

 color. The sea parrots stand upright, after the fashion of the 

 guillemots, £Uid like them frequently rest the entire foot upon 

 the ground. Their note may be described as a shrill, piping 

 whistle. 



In the same steep, rocky hillside, composed of coarse shale, 

 where the puffins nested, I also found the nests of Cassin's 

 auklet. This little bird is nocturnal in its habits, so I saw little 

 of the adults, although the young were found in their crannies 

 and could always be recognized by the little upturned snub 

 bill and the gray feet. At night, especially if the moon is up, 

 the birds are very abundant and noisy. Their notes resemble 

 the creeking of a rusty gate, and may be represented by the 

 syllables creef(-a-reek f ^reeJ^-a-reek f creek-a-reekf 



Another nocturnal bird of the island is the ashy petrel. It 

 is perhaps not so rare but is difficult to discover on account of 

 its secretive ways. The nest, which is generally placed under 

 a large, loose rock, is frequently indicated by the strong, musky 

 odor in its vicinity. The flight of the petrel is light, quick, 

 and noiseless, resembling somewhat the movements of a bat. 

 I did not hear any note uttered by the bird. It has been re- 

 cently discovered that Leach*s petrel also nests upon the Faral- 

 lones. The irrepressible western gulls, too, were abroad at 

 night, and their note sounded as a pensive wail, indescribably 

 weird and mournful as it mingled with the creaking of innu- 

 merable auklets, the roar of the waves, and the wind whistling 

 about the sharp points of rock. 



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