The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1910-11-09
PlTTW.N0W7Y

Unfortunately. for all the immaculate
whtteness OF his head and neck. he
has the same telttale blood neck or.
namenting his lower Jaw rs has his
lesser relative: he has the same cold
eye, and even blacker back. real
sooty black: and II there are no traces
OF olood-guiltiuess between the nests.
mayhap It is because he goes one bet
ter than they and swallows his nut.
ton whole. Indeed. fishermen say that
ne stands by the putfin's burrow like
craven image. watching patiently.
and then, when at last the victim
comes out. he is suddenly caught by
the back Of the neck, has the life
shaken out of him and is then gulped
down holus-bolus.
l do not wish to malign the lesser
hlack-backed gull to the extent OF sug-
costing by Implication that II disem-
bowels its victims while still alive. In
fact. the only evidence l have is dis
tinctly TO the contrary. Mr.. J. W. Par
sons. late OF the Farnes lighthouse.
and most acute observer OF bird.life.
tells me that he once saw lesser
blackjack kill puffn. He dti not
see Il catch the bird, bat It was killed
by being shaken as a terrier shakes a
rat. and then ducked under water until
drowned. Then the gull few with It
on to a rock and, after disemboweling
It, tried many times to swallow It
whole. but could not &c: it down. On
the land the pufin's footing seems M
certain; in the air its flight is labored:
therefore the place to see It at its
best must be as It hunts its prey IN
der water.
Much do I envy observers ike Ed
mund Seious who have watched 1t as
it wings its way beneath the waves
with its scarlet legs trailing behind.
AS you approach in boat a little
group of pufiins sitting on the water.
you get an inkling OF their water
magic. When you get too near to them
for their peace Of mind but not near
enough for you to see how It is done.
first one and then another disappears.
You see no dive, just a bird sitting
motionless, and then a little swirl
where was the bird. But II you want
to see one Of the fairy sights OF bird
lnni Pn m DuH3otn--n owl -o,.;,.
your back against convenient rock,
be content to sit still for an hour. In
front of you Is a shelving tract OF bare
brown earth nearly an acre in extent,
riddled in all directions with burrows
that so undermine the ground that.
however carefully you walk across II.
a clumsy foot Is sure sooner or later
to break into some putin habItation.
All the puftins that your advent dis
turbed are boSbing up and sit in hun
dreds In the bay below. Presently,
If you are quiet. they begin to whlrr
up from the sea in twos and threes
and then scores and battalions. AS
likely as not the very first that pitch
Will aligIt within two or three Yards
OF you. Others. as they circle round.
will draw up their feet. which had
been extended as II for aiigh;inS. and
so pass out TO sea once r,nre. But
before long pHfyir.town will be dense.
ly populated by its staid little inhpa.
itants, all bearing that fixed puzzled
expression that makes them look al
most comical in their solemnity. Some
stand still with Just an occasional
Tapping of their wings as if to dry
them. others take aimless little runs
on their dapper little red legs and
then stand still. looking round. as II
puzzled what the next move is 70 be-
Others fall awkwardly as they alight
and promptly drop down hole IL the
ground, just as the next-door neigh.
Dor maybe pops up from another hole
End whirrs out to sea. In little group
Of five two have caught hold of one
another's beaks and are having tus.
sic. but whether in amity or not l can.
not tell. Every now and then quite
quarter of the population will sudden.
" bend forward and in an instant In
a great cloud are whirring out to sea,
while those left behind look puzzled
at their sudden departure and Just as
puzzled when in few minutes all the
wanderers return. each taking up its
position again.
Many observers have been puzzled
to understand how the putin manages
to catch one fish after another and.
pack each methodically across its
Jaws. but as Mr.. King opens the beaK
of a dead putin you have the, answer:
from the > pufin's own mouth. for.
there on It's palate are the rows 81
barbs sioptng cbacSs between which the:
fish are aled~ There is much more to
be told about this interesting little
Bird; especially fan We're kSoRna y,I,.
puzzled tassthe putin looks: there ,is.
fone thing know, to that little mind
behind the mask, but which pcszies
US. and that is the still unsolveainys!,
.erya Sd where es2s. be spends 81 his is! winter
= osed FRANCIS AEaTseREss. n,