CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. . 1 5 



Breeding Habits. — The nesting habits of this puffin resemble 

 those of the horned puffin. My own observations show that the 

 former prefers the cliffs and edges of bluffs overgrown with grass 

 which has made an accumulation of soil on the tops and edges of 

 some bluffs to a depth of several feet. This soil is a perfect net- 

 work of holes and burrows of these birds. The nest is usually 

 the bare earth, whereon a single egg is laid. The young take to 

 the water before they are able to fly. The parent assists the 

 young to the water. (Nelson.) A moderate sized breeding 

 colony was found on an islet in Houston Stewart channel, Queen 

 Charlotte islands, B. C. (Osgood.) Swarming by thousands and 

 breeding on St. Lazaria island, Sitka, Alaska. Every grassy 

 bank on the sides of the island was riddled with [their burrows. 

 On June 17th these burrows contained fresh eggs and on July 7th 

 the eggs contained large embryos. (Grinnell.) 



In most cases, perhaps, the single egg is laid on the bare rock 

 but I found a nest on Walrus island on Aug. 7th which contained 

 a single incubated egg. This nest was placed between boulders, 

 was open to the sky and was made of dry sea-weeds and sea-ferns. 

 It was quite large, about fifteen inches in diameter, scanty in 

 material, and was practically bare in the centre. (Palmer.) 



VI. PRATERCULA Brisson. 1760. 

 13. Puffin. 



Fratercula arcHca (Linn.) Schaff. i 789. 



This species breeds from the Bay of Fundy northward to the 

 islands in Disco bay, Greenland. It is not recorded from Hudson 

 bay. 



Found- breeding in numbers at Bryon island, one of the Mag- 

 dalen islands ; in large numbers on Bird rocks ; also at Wreck 

 bay, Anticosti, and on Parroquet island, hear Mingan harbour. 

 (Brewster.) Resident, found breeding at Seal island, Yarmouth 

 CO., N. S., June, 1906. {H. F. Tufts?) Common on Greenland 

 coast up to Lat. 70° at least ; breeds plentifully on the Hunde and 

 Green islands. Disco bay. {Kumelin.) A young bird of thTs 

 species was shot on the Ottawa river towards the end of October, 

 1881. (Ottawa Naturlist, Vol. V.) 



