Birds. 7745 



the shell was remarkably thick and strong. One egg of the cormorant 

 was not symmelrical in its longitudinal axis, and had the appearance 

 of having been deposited in a soft state on a convex surface; in other 

 respects it presented nothing remarkable, I have been led to make 

 these remarks because Nauraanu, in his description of the eggs of 

 Uria troile, states that the eggs of very small size are found, caused 

 by the birds laying more than their normal number. I do not think 

 that this is the cause, as the eggs found by me were in nests with 

 other eggs that presented no deviation from the ordinary shape 

 or size. 



Eider Duck {Somateria mollissbna). This bird, though constantly 

 harassed by the fishermen and inhabitants, still breeds in great abun- 

 dance along the whole extent of the north shore, and, as it is uot gre- 

 garious during the breeding season, and ranges over such an immense 

 extent of island and shore, it will probably continue to do so, even if 

 unprotected, for many years. I found but few of their nests, placed 

 under the shelter of dwarf firs and junipers ; their favourite breeding- 

 places seemed to be the small grassy islands found in bays, and par- 

 ticularly those where small spots of turf were protected by a rock from 

 the prevailing wind. On many of the islands a species of umbel- 

 liferous plant grows abundantly, the thick foliage of which forms an 

 admirable shelter that they gladly avail themselves of. It is not often 

 that many nests are found on one island ; from one to a dozen is the 

 ordinary number, though on Greenlet Island, in the Straits of Belle 

 Isle, I found over sixty, probably not more than a quarter of the 

 whole number, as two other persons besides myself were searching 

 for them at the same time, and it is not probable that all the nests 

 would be discovered; indeed, I found nearly as many returning as on 

 first going over the ground. This island is, however, peculiarly 

 adapted to their wants, being covered with a thick growth of the plant 

 above mentioned, hardly elevated above the water, and at a sufficient 

 distance from the main land to prevent it being often visited by the 

 inhabitants. I found on this island a nest in a small stone hut, made 

 for the purpose of concealing the hunters in the spring, at which 

 time they shoot immense numbers of the eider or sea ducks, as Ihcy 

 call them. 



I found many nests in which the down was quite clean, and am 

 inclined to believe that it is always so if the bird is undisturbed ; but 

 after having been frequently robbed, the supply not being sufficiently 

 great, it is forced to eke it out with the most convenient substitute, 

 and late in the season it is not at all uncommon to find nests without 

 VOL. XIX. 3 M 



