i8 4 WILD WINGS 



the little dusky, swallow-like bird, with a white rump and 

 webbed feet, upon a single white egg. When handled they 

 always vomit up, or eject from their nostrils, a mass of strong- 

 smelling, yellow oil. Poor birds ! every carnivorous animal 

 preys upon them. Stray cats are here fat and flourishing, and 

 I have often noticed the dogs chewing up a poor petrel. 

 When I undertook to pose and photograph one that I had 

 dug up for that purpose, I had to resign myself to a two 

 hours' struggle with a ceaselessly active automaton that could 

 do nearly everything except keep still. This is the pent-up 

 energy that serves them well in their life upon the bound- 

 less deep, when for months they never approach the stable 

 land. 



Here and there, in sandy tracts above the shores, or on the 

 stump land, are small colonies of terns, both the Arctic 

 and Common species, I think. On the sand-bar connecting 

 the lobes of the island there is a colony of the Arctic. When 

 I was crossing it, the first thing I knew, one of the hovering, 

 angry terns, darting down, struck me a stinging blow on 

 the top of my head. Elsewhere they are usually shyer, and, 

 delighted by this exhibition of boldness, I returned next 

 day with my reflex camera. It must have been amusing to 

 watch me, sitting on the sand, following with the camera the 

 darting birds, one or another of which would land with a thud, 

 almost momentarily, on my devoted head. Now and then, 

 after a swoop, I would remove my felt hat to see if they had 

 punctured it. 



A pair or two of Ravens nest in the spruces, which, with 

 numerous Crows, help to destroy the eggs and young of the 

 other birds. The busy little Black-poll Warbler is everywhere 

 abundant among the spruces. Not the least interesting of the 

 Seal Islanders is the demure little grayish brown fellow, with 

 the white and spotted breast, the BicknelFs Thrush. We meet 



