Mar., 1913 BIRDS OBSERVED ON SANTA BARBARA ISLANDS 87 There were about three hundred and fifty nests counted, all of which contained from one to five eggs, many of them on the verge of hatching. Early on the morning of the fourth we hove anchor and set sail for Anacapa Island. On rounding the northeastern point of Santa Barbara Island, five Tuft- ed Puffins were flushed from the water. They were quite wild and we could not get within gun-shot of them. They probably were breeding on the little island on the northern side, where we found several likely looking burrows the day before, but could not gain entrance to them. We anchored at Anacapa on the afternoon of the fourth and spent the time until dark trying to rid our clothes of the moisture xvhich they had absorbed on the latter part of the trip. Next morning,. the three younger members of the party rowed along the coast to look over the country and its bird population. Within a few minutes Fig. 24. TYPICAL NESTS AND NESTING SITE OF BRANDT CORMORANT; PRINCE ISLAND, NEAR SAN MIGUEL ISLAND, JULY 12, 1912 three Black Oystercatchers had been laid low and these proved to be the only ones seen on this island. At the east end we saw great numbers of Tufted Puf- fins, cormorauts, ?dls and pelicans; so we found an accessible place to chmb the cliffs and ,sere soon at the top. A long and diligent search revealed a few puffin bur:'ows occupied by young; but the egg season seemed past. One bur- row produced a dead Xantus Murrelet and a rather ancient egg. Baird Cormorants nested in inaccessible places and t.hey apparently had young, though we did not actually get to see them. The pelicans, though pres- ent in great numbers, were not breeding. There were a considerable number of nests, all empty with the exception of a single fresh egg found in one of them. On a high cliff near the east end, the fresh remains of a Socorro or Black Petrel were found. The bird had been eaten by some bird of prey or possibly a rat, and the feathers were scattered about considerably. No nest was located,
