Guide leaflet . E aJj bu § ^ i6 The Bird Rock Group. family Alcidas, a group of sea-birds found only in the NorthAtlantic and North Pacific. (Several allied species may be foundin the general collection of North American Birds, see gallery,Case A.) Everywhere they are island-nesting birds, indeed someof the largest bird islands in northern seas are inhabited almostentirely by Murres:—the Fame Islands off the eastern coast ofnorthern England, the Farallones at the entrance of San Francisco. COMMON MURRE AND the Group. Bay, and St. Paul Island in Bering Sea, are tenanted by countlessind
Guide leaflet . E aJj bu § ^ i6 The Bird Rock Group. family Alcidas, a group of sea-birds found only in the NorthAtlantic and North Pacific. (Several allied species may be foundin the general collection of North American Birds, see gallery,Case A.) Everywhere they are island-nesting birds, indeed someof the largest bird islands in northern seas are inhabited almostentirely by Murres:—the Fame Islands off the eastern coast ofnorthern England, the Farallones at the entrance of San Francisco. COMMON MURRE AND the Group. Bay, and St. Paul Island in Bering Sea, are tenanted by countlessindividuals of these birds. Murres feed on fish, which they se-cure by diving, using both wings and feet in propelling themselveswhile under water. Their note is a hoarse call sounding somewhatlike the syllable murre, whence their common name. They makeno nest, but lay their one peculiarly shaped and colored egg on anexposed ledge of rock or in a similarly unprotected place. Theshape of the egg is supposed to be an adaptation to the require-ments of the nesting sites, from which a more elliptical or spheri- The Bird Rock (iron|». 17 cal egg would roll and tall. The pear-shaped Moms eggs, . er. when moved by the bird or wind, revolve about theirown j>oint, practically without change of position. The wide ::on in the colors of Maires eggs, DO two o£ which .irealike, is thought to aid the birds in recognizing their own eggs.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnatural, bookyear1901
