The California Gull 
but they varied from this negligence, or haste, up to elaborate structures 
an inch or more in thickness, composed of twigs, frayed stems and bark of 
atriplex or sage, and especially of feathers. 
At the Black Rocks colony on Paoha we found a very different physi¬ 
cal setting. The point consists of an exceedingly rough lava field whose 
cooling surface has been eroded into most fantastic forms of knob and 
minaret,—a veritable devil’s post-pile. The lower hollows have in many 
instances been filled up by a combination of pumice and guano, and these 
false floors, in many places undermined by the rising waters of the lake, 
would suddenly give way beneath our feet. 
Nesting was for the most part conducted along a strip within twenty 
feet of the water, and on a ridge a hundred yards in length, which pro¬ 
jected itself into the water. Some minor detached rocks had tenants, and 
a gravel bar at the extreme tip of the island was crowded. Some birds 
had placed their nests so near the water’s edge that the rise, very rapid, 
Taken on Paoha Island 
SCENE IN THE BLACK ROCKS NESTING COLONY 
Photo by the Author 
