276 The Tufted Puffin 



center of abundance is generally conceded to be the Aleutian Islands. 



Deposition of eggs occurs as early as May i in southern California, and 



as late as August I in northern latitudes ; but fresh 



Egg-laying eggs may also be found from June I to June 20 at any 



given point in its breeding range. Thus, on certain 



islets off the coast of Washington, I have found the Puffins punctual 



to a day, and deposition occurring with practical uniformity; whereas 



on the Farallones, 1911, there was a steady increase in numbers from 



the ist to the 28th of May, with a few still to be heard from on June 3. 



The winter range of this species comprises the open ocean, and the birds 



are occasionally driven shoreward along the Aleutian chain and the coasts 



of approximate latitudes. 



From time immemorial, the natives of the North Pacific islands have 



placed large dependence upon the Puffins, both the Tufted and the Horned, 



to supply both food and clothing, and large numbers are caught annually 



by means of small nets mounted on poles, a sort of glorified butterfly 



hunt. Puffin meat is not distasteful, as sea-birds go, although white men 



do not care for it. More important to the native 



Usefulness Aleutian is the uniformly tough skin, which goes into 



the making of parkas, the famed feather-coats of the 



North. These garments, each requiring the use of from forty-five to 



fifty Puffin-skins, are made up feather-side in, and are nearly impervious 



to cold. 



We need no economic excuse to cloak our interest in these quaint old- 

 men-of-the-sea, the Tufted Puffins. Remote, unobtrusive though they be, 

 they belong to us to study, to protect (as need arises), and to enjoy. A 

 visit paid to one of their breeding-haunts is like a trip to fairyland, a real 

 and tangible bit of romance. Such a privilege, properly exercised, is the 

 inherent right of every American citizen, and should be safeguarded to 

 our children for all time. The maintenance in full measure of these and 

 other sea-fowl is so obvious an esthetic advantage to the race that no taint 

 of commercialism ought to enter, at any point, into our consideration of 

 them. 



Classification and Distribution 



The Tufted Puffin belongs to the Order Pygofodcs, the Suborder Ccpphi, the 

 Family Alcidce, and the Genus Lunda. Its scientific name is Lunda cirrhata. It 

 inhabits the coasts and islands of the Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea and North Pacific, 

 as far south as Japan and southern California. 



This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, "by tlie National Association of 

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