Jan. 1887.] 



AND OOLOGI8T. 



8 



brown spots and blotches, the spots varying 

 on manj^ to distinct tracings such as is seen 

 on Murre eggs. 



During my stay at Wolf Bay and while the 

 Puffins were laying, we had a heavy three day's 

 storm, the day after which I visited the island 

 and evei-y burrow was flooded and in many of 

 them I could see the eggs floating around, 

 showing they were somewhat incubated, and i 

 yet I think it made no difterence in the hatch- j 

 ing of the egg?, for afterwards there was j 

 hardly a buirow without its young bird. 1 

 While the holes were drying out 1 noticed 

 a great many birds plucked green grass and 

 carried it in, presumedlj-, to raise the eggs 

 out of the mire. 



Cej^phus (jrylle. Black Guillemot. Rather 

 common but nowhere numerous. According 

 to my experience this species is not at all 

 gregarious except when drawn together by 

 force of circumstances. 



Chepphus vKimltii, Mandt's Guillemot. This 

 species recentl}" added to our list, was unfoitu- 

 nately an unknown one to me before my visit to 

 Labrador, and regarding the Black <iuilleniot too 

 common to bother with, I made up but two 

 skins, both of birds which I caught upon their 

 nests, though I had several other specimens at 

 various times which I threw away. On my le- 

 turn home I found I had a specimen of each 

 species and foi-tunately I took but one set of 

 eggs on the day I took this species so I could 

 identify them without doubt. Tliey do not 

 vary from the eggs of the common Black 

 Guillemot, and like them were found in a 

 deep crevice between two boulders. 



Uria troile, Murre. Very common but rap- 

 idly diminisliing. This species generally breed 

 on the islands furthest out to sea and seldom 

 make any effort at concealment, laying their 

 eggs generally upon flat surfaces ; often so 

 close together that tliey get confounded and 

 try to steal each othei-s eggs. But quite of- 

 ten I have found them away underneath the 

 rocks on shelves where I have had to crawl 

 on my stomach and then reach still further 

 in with a forked stick to draw them out. I 

 noticed quite a number of instances where 

 eggs had been laid in little hollows among 

 the rocks which had afterwards become full 

 of water so as to nearly cover the eggs : how- 

 ever, I saw quite a number of birds sitting 

 upon eggs which were in just such positions; 

 whether they would hatch or not I cannot 

 say, but I certainly never took an egg which 

 was in the least bit addled. I saw no evidence 

 of their ever laying over one egg at a time 



and the birds pick but one bare spot on their 

 breasts. 



Alca tarda, Razor-billed Auk. Common ev- 

 erywhere, much more so than the preceding 

 species, owing to its habit of breeding in less 

 frequented places and concealing its eggs in 

 ci-acks and crevices among the rocks where 

 it is not so apt to be disturbed. Also very 

 frequently lays its eggs in the mouths of in- 

 habited Puffin's holes a few inches or a foot 

 from the mouth. This species is exceedingly 

 gregarious; lays generally one egg, thou2h 

 in about twenty instances I found two. The 

 bird picks two bare spots on its breast. 

 To be rontinnrd. 



A List of Birds of Buncombe Co, 

 North Carolina. 



HV JOHN S. CAIRNS, AVEAVKRSVILLK, N. C. 



1. Wood Trush {Hijluciclda mustdinu). 

 Summer visitor, common. 



2. Wilson's Trush {Hylocichla fuscescens). 

 Summer visitor, common on Craggy Mt. 



3. Olive-backed Trush (Ili/lorichla us. swain- 

 suiii). Sununer visitor, rare; Craggj' Mt. 



4. Hermit Trush {Hi/loricliJa an. pallasi). 

 Winter visitor, tolerably connnon. 



5. Robin (Mcntia miyratoria). Tolerably 

 common in both sununer and winter and 

 abundant during the migrations. 



6. Mockingbird (Mimufi pidyglottus). A 

 rare sunmier visitor; a pair bred in Wea- 

 versville during the past summer. 



7. Catbird {Mimus caruluicitsis). An abun- 

 dant sununer visitor. 



8. Brown Thrasher {Ilorpnrhyvrhns rufus). 

 Tolerably common sununer visitor. 



9. Bluebird {Sinlia sialis). A common resi- 

 dent. 



10. Ruby-crowned Kniglet {Be(/uhis culen- 

 dida). A rare transient. 



11. Gold-crowned Kniglet (Begulus satrapa). 

 A common winter visitor. 



12. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher {Pulioptila cceru- 

 lea). A common summer visitor. 



13. Tufted Tit {Lophophioirs hic(dor). Resi- 

 dent, common. 



14. Carolina Tit (Farus rar(di)i(')t!<is). Resi- 

 dent, tolerably common. 



15. Carolina Nuthatch (6'itta rarolinetisix). 

 Resident, tolerably common. 



16. Red-bellied Nuthatch {Sitta canadeiisis). 

 Summer visitor, rare. 



