7744 Birds. 



Tlicre was no appearance of any recent visit on the top of the rock, 

 and though after making the ascent it was obvious that others had 

 preceded us, still the traces were so faint that it was several hours 

 before we succeeded in finding the landing-place. The birds breeding 

 there, at the time of our visit, were gannets, puffins, three species of 

 guillemot, razorbilled auks, and kiltiwakes. These birds are all 

 mentioned by Audubon, with the exception of Brunnich's guillemot, 

 and the bridled guillemot confounded by him with the common spe- 

 cies. No other breeding-place on our shore is so remarkable at once 

 for the number and variety of the species occupying it. 



Of the seven species mentioned, I am not aware that three, namely, 

 the killiwake and the bridled and Brunnich's guillemot, are known to 

 breed at any other place south of the Straits of Belle Isle ; of the 

 remaining four, two, the foolish guillemot and razorbilled auk, are 

 found at many other places and in large numbers; the puffin in much 

 greater abundance on the north shore, particularly at the Perroquet 

 Islands, near Mingan and Bras D'Or ; the gannet at only two other 

 points in the Gulf, at Perce Rock near Gaspe, whicli is perhaps even 

 more remarkable than Gannet Rock, but is at present inaccessible, 

 and at Gannet Rock near Mingan, which will soon be deserted by 

 those birds in consequence of the depredations of the fishermen. 



The following list of birds is not intended to comprise all those 

 observed by me ; all the land birds are omitted, as well as those 

 water birds to our present knowledge of which I could add nothing. 

 Before leaving home I had flattered myself that I should have an 

 opportunity of seeing some of the rarer rapacious birds, or the Iceland 

 or Greenland falcon, duck hawk, &c. Strange as it may seem, 

 during the whole of my visit to the north shore, I saw only a single 

 bird of this class — a fine golden eagle at Bras D'Or. I mention this, 

 not as proof that those birds are unknown, for I frequently found on 

 the shores unmistakable evidence of their visits, but to show with how 

 much caution the results of any individual's experience should be 

 received as positive evidence in Natural History. 



As Audubon has generally given the average dimension only of the 

 eggs of the birds described by him, which affords but a very incorrect 

 idea of the variation in size and shape, I have made careful measure- 

 ment of the extremes in length, breadth and size of the eggs of all the 

 varieties procured by me, not, however, including those which were 

 evidently abnormal. In this class I found eggs of the common cor- 

 morant and herring gull ; they were not more than one-quarter of the 

 average size, without exception contained nothing but albumen, and 



