﻿172 
  ALASKA 
  FISHERIES 
  AND 
  PUR 
  INDUSTRIES, 
  1913. 
  

  

  been 
  seen 
  to 
  sink 
  their 
  bills 
  into 
  murre 
  ( 
  ggs, 
  and 
  to 
  fly 
  away 
  carrying 
  

   tlie 
  eggs 
  so 
  transfixed. 
  On 
  Walrus 
  Island 
  round 
  balls 
  of 
  mashed 
  

   murre 
  eggshells 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  everywhere, 
  indicating 
  that 
  birds, 
  

   probably 
  these 
  same 
  gulls, 
  had 
  gorged 
  their 
  crops 
  with 
  the 
  shells 
  and 
  

   ejected 
  them 
  afterwards. 
  The 
  murrcs 
  themselves 
  are 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  

   hesitant 
  about 
  tumbling 
  each 
  other's 
  eggs 
  off 
  the 
  rocks 
  on 
  which 
  

   they 
  were 
  laid. 
  Both 
  sexes 
  of 
  the 
  murres 
  must 
  alternate 
  in 
  guarding 
  

   and 
  hatching 
  the 
  egg, 
  otherwise 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  destroyed 
  by 
  its 
  natural 
  

   enemies. 
  

  

  The 
  glaucous-winged 
  gull 
  makes 
  its 
  nest 
  on 
  Walrus 
  Island 
  on 
  the 
  

   area 
  covered 
  by 
  loam, 
  constructed 
  usually 
  of 
  green 
  grass 
  flat 
  on 
  the 
  

   ground. 
  The 
  nests 
  on 
  June 
  30 
  contained 
  two 
  eggs 
  usually, 
  and 
  in 
  a 
  

   number 
  of 
  cases 
  one 
  egg 
  only. 
  Nests 
  with 
  three 
  eggs 
  were 
  very 
  rare. 
  

   In 
  endeavoring 
  to 
  photograph 
  the 
  two 
  young 
  gulls 
  just 
  hatched 
  that 
  

   were 
  found 
  there, 
  the 
  photographer 
  was 
  dealt 
  a 
  vicious 
  blow 
  on 
  the 
  

   head 
  by 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  parent 
  birds 
  swooping 
  suddenly 
  in 
  its 
  flight, 
  and 
  

   his 
  hat 
  was 
  sent 
  spinning. 
  

  

  The 
  puflS.ns 
  lay 
  their 
  eggs 
  in 
  tunnels 
  driven 
  through 
  the 
  loam 
  a 
  

   few 
  inches 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  and 
  were 
  found 
  sitting 
  on 
  one 
  egg 
  each. 
  

   A 
  puffin 
  fights 
  viciously 
  when 
  seized. 
  

  

  The 
  red-faced 
  cormorants 
  on 
  Walrus 
  Island 
  are 
  very 
  few 
  in 
  number. 
  

   It 
  is 
  stated 
  that 
  this 
  island 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  breeding 
  place 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  

   on 
  the 
  American 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific, 
  although 
  many 
  breed 
  on 
  the 
  

   Siberian 
  side. 
  

  

  