422 Bird -Lore 



plumage of wild birds for personal adornment. At one time many of their 

 fancy costumes were decorated with bills of the Puffin, tail-feathers of the 

 Flicker, wing-feathers of the Gull, and breasts of the Swan. E. W. Merrill, 

 of Sitka, showed me several Indian garments thus decorated. He informs 

 me that of late years very few birds are killed for their plumage by the Indians. 

 He states, however, that they still kill Swans whenever they have the oppor- 

 tunity, as they consider the flesh of this bird a great delicacy. The Raven, 

 the Woodpecker and the Kingfisher are regarded as sacred by the Indians 

 of southeastern Alaska, and may frequently be seen carved on their totem 

 poles. 



St. Lazaria is the only island in the immediate vicinity that is used to 

 any great extent by the water-fowl as a breeding-grounds. On some of the 

 small rocks off Biorka Island, twelve miles to the southward, there are small 

 colonies of Gulls, Cormorants, Guillemots and Puffins, but they are very small 

 and unimportant as compared to the numbers of birds nesting on the reserva- 

 tion. 



The following is a detailed account of the birds found on the reservation: 



BREEDING WATER-BIRDS 



Lunda cirrhata. Tufted Puffin. 



Breeding abundantly all around the island on the edges of the bluffs. 

 The burrows are dug into the soil among the grass roots to an average depth 

 of five feet. Nest cavity is thinly lined with dry grass. Most of the nests 

 examined contained downy young by July 31. Estimated number of pairs 

 nesting on island, 2,000. 

 Fratercula corniculata. Horned Puffin. 



Probably a dozen pairs nesting in crevices of overhanging cliffs. On August 

 15, three pairs of these birds were observed carrying small fish into crevices 

 in a cliff on the northeast side of the island. They were undoubtedly feeding 

 young, as both birds were engaged in carrying fish. I succeeded in climbing 

 to within a few feet of the entrances to the nest crevices, but was unable to 

 see far enough in to ascertain their contents. 

 Cerorhinca monocerata. Rhinoceros Auklet. 



This bird has not been previously recorded as breeding on the reservation. 

 I found, however, unmistakable evidence that a colony of from fifty to a 

 hundred pairs had nested and raised their young previous to the time of my 

 arrival on the island. This colony was situated on the north slope about 

 one hundred and fifty feet above the water. The burrows were in the ground 

 among the roots and stumps of trees. They measured less in diameter than 

 those of the Puffin and averaged seven to eight feet in length. There was 

 apparently no attempt at nest-building. Most of the burrows examined were 

 empty, the young having apparently taken to the water some Uttle time 



