A Trip to the Farallones. 



ing and scrambling or bobbing their 

 heads, the whole scene being one of in- 

 describably weird animation, and unlike 

 anything else imaginable unless it be 

 the witches in Faust on Walpurgis 

 night. Here and there the black fig- 

 ure of a cormorant upon her nest was 

 noticed, or one would fly past with a 

 fish in her bill, headed toward her 

 young. Occasionally a puffin, or sea 

 parrot, as he is aptly called — a queer 

 fellow with his immense red bill — 

 would pass our way. The most famil- 

 iar birds were the western gulls, which 

 flocked about the boat in considerable 

 numbers, displaying their beautiful 

 slate-blue mantles and yellow, scarlet- 

 spotted bills. They were attracted by 

 the refuse of the men's breakfast which 

 had been thrown overboard in the cove, 

 but in spite of their fine plumage and 

 graceful actions, they proved to be 

 disagreeable, noisy, quarrelsome birds. 

 After our half-hour of impatient 

 waiting the eggers appeared on the 

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