102 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



to aid them in climbing as I frequently saw them do. The wearing of the 

 lower edge of this mandible leaves a horny scalelike plate on each side of the 

 mandible, with its lower edge free and easily scaled away in small fragments. 

 The inclosed angle of the mandible is now a soft cartilaginous projection, 

 which shrivels and reduces the size of the beak at that point. Next the horny, 

 beadlike rim along the base of the upper mandible gradually loosens at each 

 end below, and at the same time becomes freed from its attachment to the 

 mandible, leaving a deep sulcus between, exactly as if done by a skillful cut 

 with a scalpel. This beadlike rim now forms a part of the skin of the head 

 and moves as such, perfectly independent of the beak. Then the narrow piece 

 of sheath between the nares and the cutting edge of bill loosens and scales off. 

 The entire base of the mandible is now in an exfoliating state and scales 

 away, working toward the point of the beak. The narrow piece along the 

 frontal line is pitted each pit marking the position of a feather, as is shown 

 in many cases where minute feathers are present. When this horny cover is 

 removed a callous membrane bearing feathers is exposed, and these feathers 

 extend up and pierce the fallen scale. The basal angle of the lower mandible 

 becomes pliable before the horny cover breaks, and a dark suffusion shows as 

 though a watery fluid had exuded between the horny sheath and the cartilage. 



Food. Early in the morning many of the puffins, nearly all of 

 those that are not incubating, leave their breeding grounds and fly 

 out to sea in search of food; they may be seen going and coming 

 more or less during the day, with their bills full of small fish for 

 their mates or for the young; at night they all return. Their food 

 consists mainly of small fishes, such as sand lances, sticklebacks, and 

 smelt. Mr. Turner (1886) says: 



Their food is composed of mollusks of various kinds, a few shreds of certain 

 seaweed fronds, and larvae, which are abundant on some of these seaweeds. 



Behavior. Puffins play the part of the clown among birds; their 

 appearance is comical in any attitude, and their movements are 

 ludicrous enough as they walk about on their toes, in a semierect 

 position, with a droll dignity peculiarly their own, or stand peering 

 out of their nesting burrows, with an air of stupid inquiry. They 

 are certainly fantastic combinations of the solemn and the burlesque. 

 They are much at home on the rocks, where they are very active on 

 their feet, walking or running with ease. When launching into the 

 air off the rocks they glide swiftly downward with feet widely 

 spread, sweeping in a wide circle out over the water and returning 

 soon again to fly past or over the point from which they started. 

 They seem to be impelled by curiosity or by their attachment to their 

 homes to repeat this flight maneuver over and over again, flying in 

 a large circle or in an ellipse, out over the ocean and back again past 

 the cliffs. Hunters take advantage of this habit to lie in wait for 

 them and shoot them, but if too much molested they become more 

 wary. They are very hard to kill, however, as they are very tenacious 

 of life. Their flight is not particularly swift, but quite steady, strong, 

 and protracted; the wings are moved very rapidly and constantly; 



