CHART ILLUSTRATING EXHIBIT OF BERING SEA BIRDS 



1. Pallas' murre {Uria lomvia) 



2. Red-faced cormorant {Phalacrocorax wile) 



3. Kittiwake gull (Rissa tridactyla) 



4. Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) 



5. Horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) 



B 



erin< 



• ea 



Birdi 



One of the most populous "bird cities" in the world is located on Walrus Island, 

 smallest of the four that form the Pribilof group north of the Aleutians. This barren 

 rock, a mere speck in the vastness of the Bering Sea, lies far beyond the reach of preda- 

 tory land animals. Each year it serves as a safe refuge for incredible numbers of nesting 

 sea birds. At the height of the breeding season it is estimated that about nine million 

 birds of a dozen species are crowded together on this tiny islet. 



Regarding the birds that form this teeming metropolis, Rudyerd Boulton has writ- 

 ten as follows: "One of the most abundant birds on Walrus Island is Pallas' murre, 

 western representative of the better-known Brunnick's murre of the Labrador coast. 

 Murres are highly gregarious birds, especially during the breeding season. They crowd 

 together in huge companies, yet the rights of individuals are strictly preserved. If an 

 intruder trespasses on this few square feet which each murre family regards as its own 

 home and personal property, a fierce battle invariably results. Biting and buflfeting 

 with wings, the combatants roll and tumble, creating disorder and dismay among 



[441 



