New-York tribune., 1903-06-07
ODD BIRDS EGGS LAID In QUEER PLA
INTERESTING INCIDENTS OF A NATJRALISTS VISIT
TO IN OREGON ISLAND


when we came back to fit booty into tbs
cardboard racks OF the large egg box. This.
being a simple commercial structure. built
solely with reference to the almost infnttssnai
variation of the hens egg OF commerce, and il
was worse puzzle than pigs in clover" to
get these wildly individual children OF the cliff
Lodges to fit In with anything like economy
OF space or even safety The longest and slen-
derest eggs would slip completely through the
pockets of the rack, while the shortest and broad
est would bulge over on both sides. so that they
could only be put in alternate compartments;
and tried 10 put the buffer sheet OF card
board which was TO form the bottom Of the next
layer, you found that the tops Of the largest
eggs projected at least from half TO three-quar-
ters Of an inch above those Of the smallest Such
wide variations these could certainly be util-
lzed Dy the mother bird. for they would make
the eggs more unlike another than hII-
man babies up TO. say, three months Of age. and
we all know that their mothers can tell them
apart WITHOUT the slightest difficulty. though
we often wonder how under heaven they can
The naturalist at first inclined scofhngly
to maintain that such variations were utterly
imperceptfble to the limited intelligence OF the
birds. and that probably the Matching was a.
purely communal as the nesting; that each bird
SIMPLY planted herself down upon the first egg
she found vacant upon her return from the feed
ing ground. caring not boddle whether she or
somebody else had laid IL All she wanted TO
satisfy her was the possession Of an egg IN that
particular group nest But the student. by
dint OF lying down upon his stomach on the top
Of the cliff. and craning his neck over the edge
in the most uncomfortable fashion that hs
could look directly down upon nest ledgs
flute this cynical view Of the mUrres maternal
intelligence What he saw was a most interest,"
ing and quite complicated performance Tbs
sexes evidently took turns in sitting upon
the eggs. Whenever the male bird returned
from feeding he pitched upon the extreme outer
edge, Which. indeed, was the only place Wnere
he could find any clear footing. and there called
and clucked and craned his neck until he could
elicit some response from his mate. The mo-
ment he had located her he plunged at oncs
into the thick Of the press and fought and
shouldered and pecked his way through to her,
he in ems and T7fuclN Nf-7a ff
other birds As soon as he was safely anchored
on the precious egg, his mate instead OF taking
flight from where shs stood, simply reversed
the performance and fought her way out TO ths
edge Of the ledge, amid chorus Of squawkingss
every bird she passed within reach Of giving
her parting peck for good luck So that pos
sfbly the variations OF color and shape may bs
of practical value to the birds.
The peculiar pegtOp shape OF the egg has GER
tafnly a practical value Of another sort. ana
that is in preventing the egg from rolling. Eggs
of such taper when disturbed will not roll
straight onward like barrel. but swing quickly
round on their own axis and come to stand
still. large end downward. within four five
inches We could hardly believe that the form
would have such decided effect in this re-
gard until tried practical exDeri-
ments with the eggs. placing them upon fat
or gently slop1nS surfaces and starting them TO
roll 1t was simply astonishing how quickly
they would whirl around on their own vertical
axis It took quite a smart push TO send them
more than nine inches away from the starting
point; while If the push were given within an
inch Of either end OF the egg. it would simply
whirl round its axis without stirring
more than couple of inches from the spot
The most comical feature about the nesting
of the is that they do their sitting stand
ing up Indeed. it is hard to imagine how they
could cover the egg sufficiently to keep IL at ths
proper temperature. if it were not for their COM
munaI nesting, for they stand bolt upright, Ike
soldiers upon parade, astride of their eggs, and
must depend upon the contact Of their neigh
bOrS bodies for complete protection That they
sit astride of their eggs is proven in a mOSZ
disastrous manner by the results Of a sudden
flight from the nests on their part. II takes
O0d 6oal TO RICH tn6Tn n baI
when they do go they are exceedingly apt 70
carry the eggs with them pitching them not
merely clear of the ledge but eight or ten feet
| out into the water. Almost every shot that was
fired by Us 10 obtain some of the rarer cor
morants resulted in the throwing Of a number
of murres eggs off the nesting ledges. and when
we were working our boat through the archWay
already spoken Of, which pierced the inner rock:
a perfect shower OF eggs ana young oIuS IeI
all around the terrified tenants of the
Iedges fled in dtsTnay. Frank Chapman relates
similar experience on MS visit 10 tne great
Bird Rock in the Gulf Of St. Lawrence.
BY far the most original Of all the nests were
those of the puffins and petrels- Every level or
even rOOlike space about the rock was COW
cred from TO three fee deep with a coating
Of soft, friable earth composed partly or rotten
rock. but chiefly Of the remains Of the droppings
of Inyriads of generations OF sea btrCs. In
fact it may be remarked in passing that the
odor Of the island in spite OF the magnihcene
ventilation by every wind or heaven Fesehl-
bled that of old and badly kept hen roost-
In this soft and fragrant soil the powerful bills
of the put1nS nave dug out lnnumeraDis Dui-
rows from two 10 four feet in length, at the
end Of each OF which rough nest cavity IS
scratched and single chalk white egg is laid
Each main burrOw may have from one 10 four
short side passages leading of from IL, so that
one ground opening may accommodate four or
five mother puffins. All you have to do is 70
lie down the ground, thrust IN your arm
and pull them out. after the Other-pro-
viding that they don't get you by the fingers
first But this little prOvisO throws the odds
rather. if anything, III favor or the pu11n. for
they bite like a beaver trap Here. every
where, audacity is the thing that tells You
must plunge the hand in boldly and quickly,
so as to completely block the mouth OF the
burrow with your shoulders as soon as pos
sfble for the putin. like all other burrowing
animals, as old rat-catchers and trapperS assure
me will not bite in the dark BY this method
you will not get bitten more than once IN three
or four puffins You must handle your bird
discreetIy. however. even after you get him out.
for a putin robbed Of his egg is as vicious
rattlesnake, as I found to my cost I had ex-
tracted one Of them by this painless process
and laying him gently down on the ground be-
side me, turned 10 plunge after the egg. sup
posing that he would make the best OF his
liberty at once But no such idea entered his
head Before I could wink he had me by ths
leg, and I had TO choke him for what seemed
at least ten fifteen minutes before I could
make him let go. and bore the visible marks
Of his fury for weeks after. When at last did
get him loose. I laughed till I nearly fell OF
the ledge at the sheer, Unadulterated nerve OF
the little beggar. and have no doubt that that
putin is still relating TO his grandchildren tbs
story of his victory.
Even the slight and delicatsly built petreIs
drive their burrows into this friable soil.
though these seem 70 be dug with the feet
rather than with the beak. Wherever they can
they take advantage OF the previous work ot
the putin, that it is not uncommon find
a happy family in one Of these burrows. with
a couple of petreIs in the front attic and hail
bedroom. so to speak and two or three pufins
in the twO-pair back
When there are nestIings 70 be fed. the pa
rent petrels come home with their crops full Of
sort OF oil. the partially digested extract OF
the fish which they have caught. On reaching
the nest they thrust their beaks into the open