178 NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



748. Crested Auk — simorhynchus cristatellus. The Crested or 

 Snub-nosed Auk, like the last, inhabits the coasts and islands of the 

 North Pacific. This little bird has a beautiful crest on the forehead of 

 twelve to twenty feathers; it is about two inches long and curls grace- 

 fully over forward upon the bill. Its nesting habits are like those of No. 

 747 and the egg is similar but smaller, about 2. lo by 1.40. 



Hab. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Kadiak and Japan northward. 



750. Least Auk — ciceronia pusilla. Dr. Coues (Key to North 

 American Birds, p. 809) says: "This curious little bird, the smallest of 

 all the auks and one of the least of all water birds, inhabits the coasts and 

 islands of the North Pacific, resorting to favorite breeding places by mill- 

 ions, with 5. psittaculus and 5. cristatellus. The nesting is similar, the 

 single tgg being laid in the recesses of rocky shingle over the water; 

 size 1.55 by i .12." The bird is not known to come south so far as the 

 United States. 



Hab. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan northward to Behring's Strait. 



751. Cassin's Auk — ptycorhamphus aleuticus. The Aleutian or 

 Cassin's Auk inhabits the Pacific coast of North America, from the Aleu- 

 tian Islands to San Diego, breeding south to the P^arallones, and it is 

 said to breed as far south as the Santa Barbara Islands. Nesting habits 

 similar to those of the last. The single egg averages about 2.25 by 1.47. 



752. Sea Dove; Dovekie: — alle nigricans. The Sea Dove is found 

 on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and Eastern Arctic 

 Oceans. This is another bird that breeds in high northern latitudes far 

 out of the reach of the numerous " egg fiends " that infest the temperate 

 and subtropical portions of our country. There it can deposit its single, 

 pale, greenish-blue egg in the crevices of rocky cliffs and rear its young in 

 comparative safety. Even by the hatching of a single egg at a time the 

 birds are very abundant at their breeding grounds in the far north. In 

 North America they are found in winter as far south as New Jersey and 

 during severe storms are frequently driven inland for some distance and 

 may be found on ponds and rivers and small pools. The egg measures 

 about 1.60 by 1. 10. 



753. Black-throated Guillemot — synthliborhamphus antiquus. This 

 bird has the same general appearance of the last but is larger, being from 

 9.50 to 10.50 in length. It breeds on the islands and along the coasts of 

 the North Pacific from Sitka northward. Nesting and eggs like the last, 

 the single egg of bluish-green averaging larger, about 1.65 by 1.15. 



Hab. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan northward. Accidental in Wis- 



