THE TUFTED PUFFIN 



By WILLIAM LEON DAWSON 



Ww /Rational association of ftutmbon Societies 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 69 



To those who have been fortunate enough to visit some romantic isle off 

 the North Pacific shore, these quaint fowls make an irresistible appeal of 

 interest. "Sea Parrots" and "Jew Ducks," the sailors call them; and we should 

 all be inclined to poke fun at them for their outlandish head-gear if the situa- 

 tion were not so perfectly redeemed by the impeccable behavior of the birds. 

 Masks are essentially ridiculous; but these "Masking Puffins" will not coun- 

 tenance laughter, and the grave solemnity of their regard brings you soon 

 to respect, and then to admiration. For my own part, I confess a positive 

 affection for these droll Quakers of the sea. 



Puffins, in common with other species of the AlcidcB, spend the winter 

 upon the ocean, and are seen near land only when the buffeting of some storm 

 of unusual severity strews the sand with bodies of dead and wounded. As 

 spring advances, these birds are provided with an extraordinary array of 

 nuptial ornaments and appendages. Males and females alike receive, in place 

 of dull black feathers, a white facial mask; and this is prolonged behind from 

 either side into long, waving feather "horns" of a rich, deep straw-color. The 

 eyelid becomes a brilliant red ; and the great red beak, always stout and strongly 

 compressed, is further augmented basally by a new set of horny plates of a. 

 dull oil-green or delicate horn-color, and these, in turn, exactly match the 

 irides in tint. The feet also become bright vermilion, instead of a pale salmon. 



Thus gaily caparisoned, the Tufted Puffins repair to the grassy, sloping- 

 hillsides of the rocky islets which constitute their summer homes, and pro- 

 ceed to renovate the old nesting burrows, or else dig new ones. They work 

 intermittently at this. Stejneger, on the Commander Islands, noted that 

 in the early days of the season the Puffins spent only one day ashore in alter- 

 nation with two days at sea. It is probable, therefore, that the birds engage 

 in the evolutions of courtship during these "sea-days," for I have never seen 

 anything but the most circumspect behavior ashore. 



It is difficult to exaggerate the gravity of these tranquil birds. Absolutely 

 silent on all occasions save when caught and harassed, when they may emit 

 a low, raucous groan. They spend much time standing demurely at the 

 entrances of their burrows, and the nearest approach to levity one ever sees 

 is the accidental shaking of the pendent plumes when the bird turns its head. 



If a hillside colony is approached suddenly from shore, the standing popu- 

 lation, presumably males, pitches downward to sea by a common impulse; 

 while the nest occupants come shelling out by twos and threes and dozens, 

 as one traverses the honey-combed earth. Once a-w'ing, the Puffin returns 



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