May, 1904 I 
THE CONDOR 
67 
(19) Pigeon guillemot rookeries at East I{nd and along the south shore are 
all of the past. On Seal Rock can still be seen a large rookery of murres and a 
few cormorants, as well as the only remaining colony of sea-lions. A much larger 
number of these sea brutes were located on Sea Lion Islet in 1887. There was also 
a colony of cormorants at the top as shown by the accompanying illustration, 
from a photograph taken at the time. Another colony of sea-lions was living on 
the flat and rocks at West End, where Murre Rocks lie. 
The rookeries as they occurred in 1903 are as follows: (A) Western gull 
near where formally were Brandt cormorants. (B) A large colony ofseveral hundred 
Brandt cormorants are located on a slope facing Murre Rocks. This is at present 
the largest colony of this species. (C) Baird cormorants, a few nests along the 
shelving face of the divide between Main Top and West I{nd. (D) Western gulls. 
A scattered colony have their 
homes here among the tumbled- 
down rocks. The sea parrots or 
puffins live here on social terms 
with the gulls. (E) A colony of 
puffins is still located along this 
ridge where they were seen 
abundantly in 1887. (F) Pigeon 
guillimots are seen at this old 
nesting site and have increa.sed 
in numbers. 
Where formerly the h'arallone 
cormorant was the most abund- 
ant of the shags, tliere is now 
left only a colony of about sev- 
enty, at West I'ind, mentioned 
by Mr. Kaeding as having 
young, in his article in The 
Condor, September, 1903. 
It would be natural to expect, 
that alter nearly half a century 
of raiding of the murres for their 
eggs, the rookeries would show 
some decrease in size; and also 
that the collecting of their eggs 
for two or more months would 
effect the fertility and size of 
those deposited, at a time when 
there should naturally be young. 
I was able to collect a considerable series of the small eggs from the thousand 
brought in from the rookeries during my stay of six weeks on the island. All 
were taken during July 1887, and I append a table of their measurements, along 
with the dimensions of the same number of typical eggs. The engraving will show 
their relative sizes when viewed side by side. 
That the National Government has been wise in protecting this island bird 
life no one will deny who has once observed its wonders. 
