24 PACIFIC COAST AVIFAUNA No. 12 



swimming for several yards beneath the siirface. A large fish twice rose at him, 

 which the little fellow cleverly dodged. As in the case of the Ancient Murrelet 

 (Heath, Condor, xvn, 1915, p. 35), the young are called to sea at night by the 

 old birds. This, in the case of the present species, I have found to occur when 

 the chicks are from three to four days old. T have gained so much respect for 

 their SMnmming powers that I am inclined to think that but few perish by being 

 dashed against the rocks while entering the sea. I do believe, however, thaf the 

 larger fish get a good many, and as their down readily becomes waterlogged, 

 numbers must perish during the spring storms. When first hatched, they pre- 

 sent the most attractive appearance of any bird I know^ 



Sliortly after dark during the breeding season, numbers of the adults make 

 tlieir way to the coves and shallow water about the islands, and from then until 

 dawn they can be heard giving their characteristic cr3^ which may be described 

 as a shrill, slow twitter, about four notes to the second. At night, and especially 

 when hunting nesting sites, they will sometimes be attracted to a light on shore. 

 They doubtless make several trips to the nests each night, but during the day 

 they keep well to sea, in pairs or family parties, and when pressed too closely, 

 will rise to the wind and fly some distance rather than dive. When attacked by 

 a Duck Hawk while flying, they will suffer themselves to be caught rather than 

 taice to the water, but a wounded bird Mall almost make one believe that he has 

 turned fish. 



It has been stated {12) that this species will vomit a thin yellow oil when 

 handled, after the manner of petrels, but of approximately a hundred and fifty 

 live birds which 1 have handled, not one has shown any inclination to do this, 

 neither do their stomachs contain any oil, only a clotted, greenish slime in those 

 that I have taken, and very little of that. It seems probable that this is only an 

 indigestible residue, and that they are partial to all forms of small Crustacea and 

 otlier sea life. I believe, however, that they very seldom eat fish. 



13. Brachyramphus craven (Salvador!) 



Craveri Murrei.et 



Brachyramplius craveri (/) van Rossem, Condor, xvii, 1915, p. 74. (:2) Grinnell, Pac. 

 Coast Avif., 11, 1915, p. 175. 



Near the Coronados on August 13, 1914, A. van Eossem {!) and L. M. Huey 

 secured six murrelets that conform to the descriptions of craveri. J. Grinnell 

 (2) suggests that the characters as given for this species are due merely to age, 

 I have had little experience with this form, but am inclined to think that the dif- 

 ference between craveri and hypoleucus is not due to age, for I have handled 

 scores of birds of the latter race, and none of them have had dark under wing 

 coverts. As liypoleiicus wanders well north of its breeding range after the nest- 

 ing season, it is only natural that craveri should do likewise. 



14. Cepphus columba Pallas 



Pigeon Guillemot 



Vria columba (1) Cooper, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., iv, 1870, p. 79. (2) Henshaw, Rep. 

 Wheeler Surv., 1876, p. 278. (."?) Streator, Proc. Sta. Barbara Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 

 1887, p. 22. 



