80 Bird -Lore
is bad; they are thin and flimsy and the first to suffer from the violent winds that at times pass over the group.
Within a week after the arrival of the birds the first eggs are to be found. Last year the counts were as follows: ll/Iay 8, one; May 9, five; May to, ten; May It. twenty-three: May 12, thirty-seven new eggs The counts were now abandoned, as one was liable to overlook an egg and include it in the enumeration of a following day.
The eggs require from thirty-five to thirty»six days to hatch. These figures are given upon only seventeen counts, but in that number the period was a constant one. apparently. The majority of the young are a dull
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NUDIH' CALLth FOR Foul)
black, unmarked: a few, however. have white hlotches on back and wings, while less than one per cent are almost pure white.
The female (presumably) broods the eggs nearly constantly. only fish. ing a little in the early weeks of incubation, Toward the end of this period all food is brought by her mate,
The male (presumably) flies to sea many miles and returns with a crop full of sardines. Then he perches on the edge of the nest and the female takes hold of his bill and gives his head a rather violent shaking for asecond or so. This seems to act as a stimulus to him to disgorge, and the food coming up will he eagerly picked from the back part of his throat by the female and devoured. At other times the entire contents
