A2o Ray, Fortnight oh the Farallones. T^" 



k 

 Oct. 



Mammal life is not unrepresented on these sea islands. Great 

 bellowing herds of ponderous sea lions make their home on 

 Saddle Rock and Sugar Loaf, and whether floundering clumsily 

 up and down the rocky slopes or moving quietly along the shore 

 line, these huge amphibians were a continual study. According 

 to the residents the young sea lions have a strong aversion to 

 water and frequently wander far inland on the main island. Rab- 

 bits, said to be of Australian breed, abound on South Farallon. 

 They inhabit burrows on the hillsides and when surprised often 

 scamper, in their hurried efforts to hide, into some small nook or 

 crevice from where they can be pulled out by the hand. 



The following is a list of the breeding birds observed : 



I. Lunda cirrhata. Tufted Puffin. 



To see that most curious bird, the puffin, with its massive bill 

 and the yellow curls that adorn its head, in its summer home is 

 alone well worth the island trip. We first encountered this brown- 

 ish, short-tailed species of bat-like flight on the day of our arrival, 

 just off the harbor, and from its striking features we were able to 

 identify it at a glance. We found them nesting abundantly over 

 nearly the entire island, from the sea level to the crest, and at 

 Puffin Slope, between North Landing and Tower Point, the hill- 

 side is simply honeycombed with their burrows ; I have counted 

 as many as forty-three birds sitting on the rocks about the 

 entrances. There is also another large colony on the slope oppo- 

 site Murre Rocks, on West PLnd. The holes ran in from one to 

 five feet, some being dug in the soil among the rocks while others 

 were natural cavities in the cliffs and ledges or under boulders. 

 A number were unlined, but most of them were scantily lined, 

 and in a few the single egg was partly buried in a heap of weeds. 

 During our visit we found both fresh and partly incubated eggs, 

 the former predominating. The majority were but very faintly 

 marked, and those wreathed with jerky lines of lilac and tan 

 were rare exceptions. All eggs except those just laid were more 

 or less discolored by contact with the damp soil and other sur- 

 rounding material. 



Its white face and light colored bill rendered the puffin easily 



