Brewster. j 408 [October 3, 



Verrill, criticising Coues's statement a that " the flesh of the Puf- 

 fin, though not ill-flavored, is so exceedingly tough as to be eata- 

 ble only in cases of necessity," affirms that he " found them, like 

 the different species of murres, excellent food and not at all tough 

 if properly cooked." 2 Our experience agrees with Professor Ver- 

 rill's. Indeed, we considered the Puffins more tender and palata- 

 ble than any other birds (excepting j)ossibly young Herring Gulls) 

 which we were able to procure. 



88. Uria grylle, Linn. — Black Guillemot. 



If the Black Guillemots ever congregated in large colonies they 

 have learned the greater safety of dispersion. At least about the 

 Gulf it is rare to find more than a few dozen pairs breeding in the 

 same locality ; but, on the other hand, they are so generally dis- 

 tributed that there is scarcely a rocky shore or island off which 

 more or less of their dark forms may not be seen drifting idly on 

 the tide or skimming swiftly over the heaving surface. Being sel- 

 dom molested they are usually very tame, and at the fishing sta- 

 tions I have seen them diving among the boats or floating within 

 a few yards of men at work on shore. Nevertheless it takes but 

 a slight hint to develop all their native wariness, and if one is 

 shot at and missed further pursuit is almost invariably useless. 



The normal breeding habits of the species are so well known 

 that I shall not dwell on my personal experience at large, but the 

 following extract from some notes made at Grand Entry Island, 

 where we found these Guillemots breeding under rather peculiar 

 conditions, is perhaps worth publishing : — 



" June 27. Early this morning we started in boats to explore the coast 

 of Grand Entry Island. Upon pulling in under the cliffs we found our- 

 selves surrounded by scenery of a novel and imposing character. Vertical 

 walls of red sandstone — nearly of the color of burnt bricks — towered above 

 our heads to the height of a hundred feet or more and outlying turrets, 

 fast disintegrating under the action of the weather, rose like watch towers 

 from the water, their summits ending in slender, needle-like points. Both 

 cliffs and turrets were pierced with innumerable holes and fissures of vary- 

 ing shapes and depths ; and in places, at the water's edge, some dark 

 rounded openings marked the entrances to caves into which the swells rolled 

 at intervals, bursting with a dull choking sound in the recesses within. 



i Proc. Phila. Acad. 1861, p. 251. 



2 Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. ix, Oct. 1862, p. 142. 



