AMONG THE WATER-FOWL 



could not see that they were alarmed in the least by 

 the explosions, and I did not see a single egg fall 

 during my stay. This was the day when the 

 schooner was to return for us, so, under the circum- 

 stances, we busied ourselves preparing a few speci- 

 mens and getting ready for the possible departure, 

 notwithstanding that it looked as though our visit 

 might be prolonged. 



Several land-birds had taken refuge on Bird 

 Rock, one of which was a Long-eared Owl. Sun- 

 day night it flew out from under the lighthouse, 

 and next morning the Keeper shot it as it flew out 

 again. He thought it would kill his chickens, and, 

 though such a practice is quite foreign to the 

 species, I could not guarantee that it would not have 

 done it under pressure of starvation. Indeed, who 

 would not ? As I entered the tool-house, a bird was 

 fluttering against the window, a Black-billed Cuckoo, 

 as I found by catching it, of which species I had 

 seen several individuals on the main islands of the 

 group. I let it go in the open, and off it went with 

 the wind, northward, toward Newfoundland, where I 

 trust it arrived safely in due time. I also observed 

 a Bittern and a pair of White-winged Crossbills. 



About the middle of the afternoon, with a 

 change of wind to the west, the clouds broke and 

 the sun shone out for awhile. I took a few more 

 general views of the great bird-colony, and then set 

 the camera on the rocks for shots at close range. 

 But the birds were restless, flying almost constantly, 

 and would not gather where I wanted them. Be- 

 fore I succeeded in getting a single group, we saw 

 the schooner coming, several miles away. 



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