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SEPT., [903[ THE CONDOR [2 5 It is the same with young birds, whether they be young nmrres or cormorants-- the gulls take all they can get. Mr. Fuerles related a case where he inadvertent- ly disturbed a rookery of several hundred cormorants, and saw the gulls clean out every nest before the cormorants could return. Photographs of nesting gulls were secured by focusing the camera on the nest and retiring to a distance with a cord attached to the shutter, and patiently awaiting the return of the bird. Of the cormorants the island supports three breeding species: the Fatallone cormorant is the least common, there being only one small colony of these fowl, con- taining not more than seventy individuals. They are nesting in a sheltered nook nearly at the sure,nit of the island and had young when we were there. We were able to approach them quite close as the old birds were reluctant to leave the young exposed to the gulls or to the fierce rays of the sun, so that we got good photos. The Baird cormorants nest in small scattered the whole island, selecting the ledges of the cliffs for nesting sites. They had full sets of eggs at this date and were rather wary, not permitting us to get close enough to photograph them on the nest except at long range. This cormo- rant is readily distin- guished in the nuptial plumage by the conspicu- ous white flanks. Brandt cormorants were the most abundant of the three, and were starting to lay at this date. They seem to prefer the de- tached rocks about the is- land and covered them in thousands. There is also colonies in various places over WESTERN GULL ON NEST a large colony on the northwestern slope of the island. Red phalaropes and northern phalaropes were not uncommon in the tide pools along the coast line, and a few black turnstones, wandering tattlers, black oyster-catchers and surf birds were seen along the water's edge. A single pair of ravens had their nest in a high cliff on the west end, but they were marked by the keepers and shot later, in expiation of their raids on the domestic hen houses. Last, but quite the contrary of least iuteresting of this great colony, are the petrels. Two species of these little fellows are known to breed there, but we saw only one. The Leach petrel was found on the Farallones by Mr. Levererr M. Loomis some years ago, but all those that we discovered during our sho?t stay were ashy petrels, and they are undoubtedly the only petrel that nest there in any numbers. The stone walls that run here and there over the island shelter in their crevices many a petrel and at this. date they had fresh eggs. Many collectors and