THE TUFTED PUFFIN, 
(5 I HBSE birds nest in colonies, 
4 I the family consisting of about 
q) I thirty species, nearly all found 
~ in the northern parts of the 
northern hemisphere. Audubon is 
said to have procured the specimen 
figured by him at the mouth of the 
Kennebec river, Maine, the only record 
of its occurrence on the Atlantic coast. 
The Tufted Puffin breeds upon the 
rocks and in the Rabbit warrens near 
the sea, finding the ready-made burrows 
of the Rabbit very convenient for the 
reception of its egg, and fighting with 
the owner for the possession of its 
burrow. Where Rabbits do not exist, 
the Puffin digs its own burrows, and 
works hard at its labor. The egg is 
generally placed several feet within 
the holes, and the parent defends it 
vigorously. 
Like most of the sea birds, both 
sexes assist in incubation, says a recent 
writer, referring to the birds found at 
the famous rookery in the open sea two 
hundred miles west of Fort Wrangell, 
an island often visited by the Indians 
for birds and eggs, and are close sitters, 
a great amount of probing with a long 
stick being necessary to dislodge them. 
A grassy hill side is a favorite retreat 
and here it is dangerous to travel about 
on account of the Puffins constantly 
coming blindly out of their dark holes 
with a force sufficient to upset one if 
fairly struck by the flying birds. 
When specimens are wanted they are 
easily captured with snares set over 
their holes during the night. The 
vari-colored pear-shaped eggs are well 
known and make good eating. 
The Farrallones are the home of 
vast numbers of Puffins, as well as 
other sea-birds, though less numerous 
than formerly. The nests have been 
robbed for the eggs to an extent that 
threatened their extermination until a 
recent law was enacted for their pro- 
tection. A portion of the island is a 
veritable rookery, the grotesque birds 
standing guard all about the rocks. 
They are very awkward on land, 
moving with a comical waddling stride, 
but on the wing are graceful, rapid 
flyers. They dive and swim with 
ease, pursuing the fish in the water, 
which, with crustaceans and insects, 
constitutes their food. 
The Farrallones have become largely 
known from the wholesale collection 
of the eggs of sea birds for market 
purposes. As they nest chiefly in 
colonies, the eggs therefore being 
numerous, it has been, hitherto, a 
considerable industry. The eggers 
starting together soon separate to cover 
their various routes over the cliffs, the 
birds appearing in rows all over the 
hill side. "As an egger climbs his 
familiar trail toward the birds, a 
commotion becomes apparent among 
them. They jostle their neighbors 
about the uneven rocks and now and 
then with open bills utter a vain pro- 
test and crowd as far as possible from 
the intruder without deserting their 
eggs. But they do not stay his progress 
and soon a pair, then a group, and 
finally, as the fright spreads, the whole 
vast rookery take wing toward the 
ocean. Instantly the Western Gulls 
congregate with their hollow kock-kock- 
ka and shrill cries adding to the din, 
to secure their share of the booty, and 
the egger must then work rapidly to 
secure the eggs." 
139 
