This page needs to be proofread.

November, 19o2. I THE CONDOR ]?issa tridactyla pollicaris .4canthis linaria ?lrclonetla fischeri Z?rirundo erythro?astra palmeri Trin?a couesi SPECIES OBSERVED ON BESBORO ISLAND. Lunda cirrhata Fralercula corm'culata Cepphus columba ?Phalacrocorax pelag'icus robustus Corvus corax principalis Zonotrichia coronala ]>asserella iliaca .4mmodramus sandwichensis alaudinus .4canlhis linaria Z)endroica? a'stiva rubi?inosa .4nthus pensilvanicus Z]ylocichla alici?e 137 Gayla lumme (Gunn.).--Loons were[seen at various points along the coast wherever there were pools. The only ?pecies identified was the red-throated, of which a male was taken at Fallax Point,[ August 24 Lunda cirrhata (Pallas).--This species was found nesting on Egg Island, Bes- boro Island, Pathfinder Rock and at Cape Denbigh. The nesting habits of the tufted and horned puffins are so similar that they will be treated of together un- der the latter species. Fratercula corniculata (Naum.).--Horned puffins were found nesting on Bes- boro Island and probably they nested at Cape Denbigh, but the cliffs are so high at both these localities that it is impossible to collect eggs. I shall therefore de- scribe their habits first, as observed on Egg Island and second, as seen on Path- finder Rock. The puffins, as I stood on top of the bluff overlooking their nesting place on Egg Island, flew by in a steady stream. Looking over the water they were seen to return to the left, to pass again before the face of the cliff. In their flight they described a slightly flattened circular figure with a long diameter of about 2oo yards parallel to the shore line. In leaving the cliff the legs. were spread far apart and extended horizontally behind, the wings beating rapidly. Mixed with this species but far less numerous were tufted puffins. The nests of both species are similar and are placed in various positions. Most of the birds inhabit true burrows made in the soft soil. These are from one to four feet long and though usually fairly straight are, in some cases, winding. Other burrows are made next to a rock so that the stone forms one of the side walls. Small caves among rock slides are also utilized as nesting places, and I saw one puffin fully twelve feet from the outside in a vertical crack of a large rock. The nest is made of the dead stems of a plant growing abundantly on the hill side. The soil here is very damp and the eggs become more or less stained. Either sex was found incubating and the setting bird bit savagely when disturbed, making no effort to escape while the entrance was barred.. On Pathfinder Rock I found both species of puffins, but a hurried run over the island did not show any burrows. The first egg I found Was under a rock and after working careful- ly twice around the island, I came off with twenty-one eggs. The description of the nesting is taken from my note book as set down at the time. "These nests are very different from those on Egg Island. No eggs were found except under rocks and most eggs were under small rocks which stood high enough to admit the bird. Other eggs were far back under large rocks so that they were out of reach, but I managed with a rib bone of so?ne mammal lashed to a lath to draw Out all eggs which I found. These nests are, in most every instance, well made of coarse dry grass, with a deep cavity. The soil is dry and the nests being better made and among rocks the eggs are less stained than on Egg Island." Eggs collected July 17 were nearly all fresh, or but slightly incubated.