24 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



Along the coast of Maine the numerous rocky 

 islands extending in an irregular line out to sea 

 afford favorite nesting places for numerous sea- 

 fowl, among which the Black Guillemot, or " Sea 

 Pigeon," is by no means rare. Farther north 

 they are more numerous and breed in numbers 

 on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, at 

 various places in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and 

 along the Labrador coast. Li approaching their 

 nesting islands one will observe what appear to 

 be short, black Ducks swimming ahead of the 

 boat, usually several together. One by one they 

 will suddenly disappear, as with surprising swift- 

 ness they dive beneath the surface. Under water 

 they are much at home, and by the use of wings, 

 as well as legs, they take their submarine flight 

 to a considerable distance before reappearing. 

 Usually one does not see them again until they 

 rise to the surface well beyond gunshot range. 

 On taking wing they rise readily from the water. 

 Their progress is swift, strong, and usually 

 directed in a straight line. In flight they rarely 

 rise more than a few feet above the water. 



The Black riuillemot's nest is placed in the 

 cleft of rocks well above the reach of high tides. 

 While clambering over the great jumble of giant 

 bowlders, that reach from the water to the higher 



ground on some of the Maine islands, I have 

 often come upon these birds brooding their eggs 

 or young. The first knowledge of their pres- 

 ence would be when one would spring out from 

 among the bowlders and go dashing away to the 

 sea. Their black bodies and white-lined wings, 

 combined with the red of the dangling, wide- 

 spraddled legs, made a color scheme well worth 

 seeing. Hidden generally well from view is the 

 nest, and often it would take a steam derrick 

 to reach it. Not the slightest effort at nest 

 building is attempted. The two handsomely 

 spotted eggs are deposited on the bare rocky 

 floor of the little cave. The young are covered 

 with down, literally as black as the " ace of 

 spades." The birds feed on various crustaceans 

 and shell-fisli which are secured by diving. 



Many sea-birds of the North journey to south- 

 ern waters to spend the winter, but the Sea 

 Pigecjn apparently sees no need for exerting it- 

 self to such an extent. In fact it can hardly be 

 said to migrate at all, for it is rarely found south 

 of Cape Cod, scarcely two hundred miles beyond 

 its simthernmost nesting grounds. At all times 

 they are coast-wise birds, seldom being seen out 

 of sight of land, and never under any circum- 

 stances going inland. T. Gilbert Pearson. 



PIGEON GUILLEMOT 

 Cepphus columba Pallas 



A. O. U. Xumber 2g 



Other Name. — Sea Pigeon. 



General Description. — Length. 13 inches. Prevail- 

 ing color, in summer, sooty-black; in winter, black and 

 white; bill, slender and straight, zvilli no horiiy grotvth 

 at base. 



Plumage. — Jl'liilc mirror of upper surface split by 

 an oblique dark line caused by extension of dark bases 

 of greater coverts increasing from within outward 



until the outside ones are scarcely tipped with white; 

 plumage and changes otherwise as in Black Guillemot. 



Nest and Eggs. — Similar to those of the Black 

 Guillemot. 



Distribution. — Coasts and islands of the Arctic 

 Ocean, Bering Sea and Cape Lisburne, and both coasts 

 of the north Pacific from Bering Strait south to Santa 

 Catalina Island, California, and to northern Japan. 



Mr. Dawson says that the Pigeon Guillemot 

 is " unquestionably the most characteristic water- 

 bird of the Puget Sound region," and explains 

 its sharing the popular name " Sea Pigeon " with 

 the Bonaparte Gull as follows : " The Gulls are 

 dove-like in posture (at least a-wing). and in 

 their manner of flocking : while the Guillemot 

 owes its name both to its plumpness and to its 

 very unsophisticated, not to say stupid, appear- 

 ance." (Birds of Washington. ) 



E. W. Nelson found this bird " the most abun- 



dant of the small Guillemots throughout the 

 North, from Aleutian Islands to those of Wran- 

 gel and Herald, where we found it breeding 

 abundantly during our visit there on the 

 Corivin.'' He notes that the birds are very con- 

 spicuous by reason of their white wing patches 

 and bright red' legs. When perched on the rocks 

 they sciuat like Ducks, and when swimming they 

 often paddle along with their heads lielow the 

 surface. 



For breeding operations a few pairs may take 



