NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 9 



white face mask; long, floating yellow ear-tufts, "bent like the horns 

 of a ram " ; the legs are red, the beak is red and green, making alto- 

 gether a grotesque looking creature. 



The birds deposit their single egg in crevices of rocks ; a burrow 

 is often dug in the guano, which has for ages accumulated on these 

 islands ; sometimes a few pieces of weeds are found in the bottom of 

 the cavity, but often no material is used as a nest lining. 



Mr. W. O. Bmerson, who has collected extensively on the Faral- 

 lone Islands, says that one of the birds may always be seen at the 

 entrance of their nesting places on guard duty ; they are among the 

 most noisy of the sea birds, always screaming while out on the rocks, 

 and constantly "growling" while in their burrows. Fresh eggs may 

 be collected in the middle of June. Mr. Bmerson informs me that he 

 has taken fresh eggs and young birds in the latter part of July. One 

 pair will rear two or three birds in a season. 



The eggs have a ground color varying from a pure white to a 

 yellowish buff. Some have a circle of lilac markings about one or 

 both ends. Bggs will be found in a large series having tan colored 

 spots over the entire surface ; others have lines and zigzag markings, 

 while some seem to be immaculate, but upon close examination deep- 

 lying shell markings are noticeable. Four eggs measure 2.87x1.88, 

 2.83 x 1.86, 2.84 x 1.86, 2.82 x 1.89. 



In a paper entitled " Birds and Bggs from the Farallon Islands,"* 

 based principally upon Mr. Bmerson's "matchless collection of birds 

 and eggs, and his notes regarding them," the author, Mr. Walter B. 

 Bryant, says : "I have carefully measured fifty puffin's eggs, which 

 average 70.2 x 48.4 mm. f The individual proportions of eight eggs, 

 showing the greatest and smallest extremes of both diameter, are 

 81x50, 77x48,74x50, 7 I -5 X 5 I > 7 IX 4 6 > 6 5-5 x 45, 64x50,63.5x50 

 mm."| 



13. Fratercula arctica (LINN.) [743.] 



Puffin. 



Hab. Coasts and islands of the North Atlantic. Breeding on the North American coast from the Bay 

 of Fundy northward, south in winter to Long Island, and casually further. 



The Common Puffin is found exclusively in the waters of the 

 Atlantic, breeding on the eastern coast of North America from Maine 

 to Greenland. In Burope it breeds from Great Britain to the northern 

 coast of Norway. 



The nest is made in a burrow in the earth, dug by the birds. Far 

 north thousands breed in the fissures of rocky cliffs and in the sides of 



* Read before the California Academy of Sciences, December 19, 1887. 



t 2.76x1.90. 



| 3.19x1.97, 3.03x1.89, 2.91x1.97, 2.81x2.01, 2.79x1.81, 2.58x1.77, 2.56x1.97, 2.50x1.97. 



