Taken in Washington 



A QUAINT FOWL 



Photo by Lynds Jones 



The Tufted Puffin 



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. 1 "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 situation were not 

 so perfectly redeemed by the impec- 

 cable behavior of the birds. Masks 

 are essentially ridiculous; but these 

 "Masked Puffins" will not counte- 

 nance laughter, and the grave so- 

 lemnity 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 Alcidce, 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 extraor- 

 dinary 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 proceed 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 alternation 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, ab- 

 solutely silent on all occasions save when caught and harassed, when they 

 may emit a low, raucous groan. They spend much time standing de- 

 murely at the entrances of their burrows, and the nearest approach to 



■The substance of this account has already appeared as "Educational Leaflet No. 69," of The National Associa- 

 tion of Audubon Societies (Bird Lore. Vol. XV., July-August, 1913, pp. 268-271), and the author is indebted both to 

 Bird-Lore and the National Association for permission to reproduce. 



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