The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1915-10-02
A GROTESQUE BIRD
The Tufted Puffin Is the Joke of
the Arctic Seas.
TO LOOK AT HIM Is TO LAUGH.

This Curious Creature Is Silent, Tran
Gull and Droll, With an Air of Pro-
found Gravity and Spends His Win.
ters Roaming Over the Ocean.
1t is curious fact that the far
north and the far south each has
sea bird peculiar to itself. and i'll both
cases these birds. although unlike one
another i'll general appearance. are
among the oldest looking members of
the bird family that the world contains.
The characteristic bird of the ant.
arctic regions is the penguin. whose
strutting companies. gathered on IN
icy shore. look like assembages OF
little men, in long tailed black coats
and SpotlesS white waiStcoatS, waitin:
to sit down 1T cerenonious dinner.
The characteristic bird of the arctic
regions IS the aux. Il thick set. awkward
creature, fond of fishing. like the pen
guin. The largest member of the fam
lily. the great aux" or 'gare fowl
has been driven into extinction within
! historic times. Another member. which
the Audubon societies are trying To
protect, is the queer looking. laughter
exciting. and yet very grave and ear.
nest native citizen Of the north Pacific
shores and islands. called the tufted
putin.
When the tufted putin is looking his
best (which is. of course. during the
counting season) he wears big red
beak and a white mask. through which
his green, red trimmed eyes CLEAN
strangely. and shows Il pair of bright
vermilion legs and feet. From the top
of his mask on one side over the ear
curls a long golden white feather
horn" 1t seems that no description is
able to convey the ludicrous impress
sion which these birds make upon the
beholder. Sailors seeing them for the
| first time break into outlaws of laugh
ter. They call them ''Sea parrots" and
on account of their drolly grave man-
ners they have also been nicknamed
"Quakers."
Says William Leon Dawson: at Is
difficult to exaggerate the gravity Of
these tranquil birds. always absolute
! ly silent. save that when caught and
harassed. they may emit q low. hoarse
groan. They spend much time stand
ing demurely at the entrances Of their
burrows. their little plumes noddinR
like tasselS on so many caps"
Like all the auks. the puffins are es
pecially remarkable for the great size
Of their beaks and the changes which
| fhnfP o& ha
season. Some Of the horny plates Of
the big beak fall away at the end Of
the season, the white mask on the face
together with its nodding plumes. dis
appears, the red eyelids fade and the
whole head becomes blackish.
NaturaliSts are a little puzzled to ac-
count for the size and stoutness Of the
pufin's beak. If the bird were fond
Of clans it's beak might be of use as
shell breaker but it seems not to be
employed In that way. Neither is ii
used to dig the tunnels or burrows
that the bird forms for it's nest in the
hard soil of sea fronting cliffs. These
are excavated to a depth of three or
four feet. and apparently the only
tools used are the sharp nailed claws
In some places it is estimated that
several thousand burrows exist on q
single acre of slOping shore. The rab-
bits and puffins engage In lively CON-
petition for the possession Of burrows
On the Farallones islands. but the big.
| pyramid pointed beak gives easy VIC
| tory in these contests. Mr.. Dawson
says frightr-led rabbit will sometimes
plunge hastily into q burrow without
stopping to consider to whom it be-
longs. and when he comes out again.
with more haste than ever. he is a
subject for laughter.
! The natives of the north Pacific is
lands depend largely upon puffins for
both food and clothing. The Aleutian
'parkas," or feather coats, are made
Of the skins of puffins, with the feather
| side turned inward. Forty-fve or fifty
skins sewed firmly together make a
garment which is said to be nearly
impervious to cold. The birds are Of
ten caught in flight by means of nets
at the end of poles handled like butter
fly nets. Unlike birds that are more
skillful and agile on the wing, the puff
fms fly straight ahead and are unable
to dodge quickly.
Strange as the statement may ap-
pear the puffins, like the auks general
ly. spend the winter at sea. At that
season they are to be seen on land only
when driven ashore by some resistless
tempest, which strews the beaches
with their battered forms. many dead
and many hopelessly famed. With the
advance of spring and summer they
approach the shores where they are
accustomed to breed. and then the re-
markable changes of their colors, form
and plumage that have been already
described begin to take place.-Gar-
rett P Seryiss in Spokane Spokesman
Review.
e