152 



OKKITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 12-Ko. 9 



causes the tourists to flock to Mt. Desert, Bar 

 Harbor and other fasliionable watering places 

 of the Maine coast, they drive a very fair busi- 

 ness at this questionable traffic. 



Amei'ican Hen-ing Gull, Larus argentatus 

 smithsonianns. We noted this bird on all parts 

 of the island and seeing them occasionally in 

 pairs and trios during our stay at North Head 

 and growing more abundant as we journeyed 

 southward along the coast. At the southern 

 end we found several large colonies breeding. 

 Noticeably abundant were the nests upon 

 Wood's Island, while both Hay and Sheep Is- 

 lands have numerous colonies. They do not 

 strictly breed together, however, as we found 

 scattering pairs nesting in the swamps on Ross 

 and the main island. Naturally the nests are 

 placed upon the ground, but having grown 

 wary from the visits of the eggers, many have 

 taken to shrubs and trees for protection. Here 

 if out of reach they ai'e practically safe, as the 

 wants of the egg hunters are usually supplied 

 by those gathered in positions easy of access. 

 The wiser heads we found had done this, and 

 as wisdom increases so does their distance from 

 terra flrma increase. The majority, however, 

 still cling to the established customs of their 

 ancestors and lay like hens until a set is al- 

 lowed them. The natives use them largely for 

 food and gather by basketfulls, which they 

 sell for a small sum. the eggs having an intrin- 

 sic value of about a cent apiece. We found 

 them upon our host's table, who considered the 

 contents superior to those of rasorial fowl. To 

 a novice, however, they have a slight "wild"' 

 taste. The yolks have when boiled either a 

 bright yellow or an orange hue, the latter hav- 

 ing a much more "wild" flavor. 



On our arrival at a colony the inhabitants 

 would at once take flight from the nests and 

 circle about in hundreds over our heads, all the 

 while keeping up a hoarse croaking which thej^ 

 would occasionally extend into a series of shrill 

 screeches. The position which the Indians oc- 

 cupy in regard to securing the Gulls is a per- 

 fect vantage ground. The island on which 

 they ai'c stationed being a long narrow aim, 

 over which the residents of the Hay and Sheep 

 colonies must necessarily pass on the way to 

 feeding grounds. Their flight being slow and 

 steady tliey rarely swerve from a direct course 

 unless a natural obstacle compels it. Both 

 night and morning they fly over by thousands 

 the island where so many of their kin have fall- 

 en victims; whereas a slight change in their 

 route would carrj' them out of danger, at least 

 from this source. 



Their food is largely made up of sea urchins 

 which they find in immense quantities on the 

 borders of certain coves and inlets at ebb tide. 

 Indeed, in some places the bottom of the bay is 

 so thickl}- carpeted with the spined fellows 

 that I could think of naught else that resembled 

 it but the ground ueath a huge New England 

 chestnut after an early October frost. Hither 

 at receeding tide the Gulls hie themselves, mak- 

 ing the shores fairlj' white with their numbers. 



The sea urchin is adroitly turned over and 

 the flesh picked from a circular hole in the bot- 

 tom without injuilng the shell in the least. 

 The nests which we examined, as a rule, con- 

 tained three eggs as a full set, but those on the 

 ground, many of which are daily harried, con- 

 tained usually but one or two. 



Charles H. Andros. 



The Nesting of the Slate-Colored 

 Junco, at Grand Manan. 



BY FREDERIC H. CARPENTER. 



The first observation of this species, Junco 

 hyemalis, was a female flushed from her nest 

 by Mr. F. W. Andros, in an old pasture, back 

 of the town of Eastport, Maine. The nest was 

 sunk into the side of a mossy hummock in 

 damp earth; the set numbered four, with 

 general colorization much darker than average 

 specimens. Incubation was fresh. The locality 

 was evidently not favoj-able to tl'is species as 

 we saw no n)ore. 



On the following day, June .5th, we arrived 

 at Grand Manan, and had abundant opportunities 

 for witnessing the nidification of the Juncos. 

 Thejf seemed to be rather restricted in tiieir 

 choice of breeding resorts. At North Head, 

 where thei-e were pastui-es half grown up with 

 spruce and bii'ch, with plenty of the low 

 scrambling evergreen, called juniper by the 

 natives, we found them much ujore [)lenty 

 than at any other place on the entire island. 



The majoiity of their nests were placed well 

 into the ground, beneath the cover of the 

 "Junipers." One set of five taken June 5th 

 was exceptionally light in ground color, and 

 almost as glossy as the eggs of tlie Yellow- 

 breasted Chat. Theii- nests were invariably 

 lined with hair and fine grasses, compactly 

 woven into an outside of coarser stems. 



At this locality th(;y are abundant at times, 

 every bush containing one or more individuals. 

 Tliey aie hard to flush from their nests, often 

 narrowly escaping being trod upon. 



