298 Willett, Birds of Forrester Island. uuly 



next. Among the total number of burrows excavated, however, the 

 percentage of the Cassin's Auklet was very small. They were found 

 nesting on the east side of the main island and on Petrel Island. Eggs 

 were noted occasionally from May 30 to June 9. On the latter date large 

 young were common on Petrel Island, so the nesting season must have 

 commenced in April. A bird incubating two eggs was found on this latter 

 occasion. It seems probable that one of these was deposited by another 

 bird. 



Synthliboramphus antiquus. Ancient Murrelet. — Very abun- 

 dant. Estimated number, 20,000 pahs. The principal nesting colonies 

 of this bird are on the eastern slope of the main island where they mingle 

 with the two species of auklets. They also nest in lesser numbers on Petrel 

 Island among the petrel colonies. From observations it would seem that 

 this murrelet seldom burrows in open ground but prefers locations among 

 roots of trees and under logs and rocks. The nesting season evidently 

 begins about May 1 and continues well into June, the most of the eggs, 

 however, being deposited about May 10 to 15. 



The newly hatched young has a greyish band across the chest and the 

 abdomen is also shaded with grey. In two or three days this disappears, 

 leaving the under parts pure white. The young leave the nest when about 

 four days old and follow the. parent bird to the water. This movement 

 takes place generally between 11 p. m. and 1 a. m. At this time of night 

 the calls of old and young murrelets may be heard in all directions. At 

 the time of my arrival on the island, May 23, the young were already 

 leaving the nests, and the latest noted was on the night of July 2. They 

 were most plentiful June 1 to 10. The old bird precedes the young to the 

 water, generally keeping from twenty to one hundred feet ahead of it. A 

 continuous communication is maintained between the two, the frequent 

 cheeps of the young being answered by the parent . By the aid of a lantern 

 I was able to watch the progress of this movement. The chicks come 

 tumbling down the hillsides, falling over rocks and logs and, directed by 

 the adult, generally make their way to the bottom of the nearest ravine 

 which they follow to the salt water. Arriving at the water's edge, in 

 response to the anxious calls of the parent who is already some distance out 

 on the water, the chick plunges in and swims boldly out through the surf 

 and joins its parent. Whether or not both young generally leave the nest 

 on the same night, I am unable to state but I know that this is not always 

 the case, as in one or two instances a solitary young was found in a nest, the 

 evidence showing that two birds had been hatched and that one had already 

 left. The young rnurrelets are easily attracted by light and they often 

 wandered into the tents of the fishermen where, rendered helpless by the 

 glare of the light, they were easily captured. 



The old bird with the young evidently proceeds immediately out to the 

 open water as, even when hundreds took to the water at night, they could 

 not be found anywhere in the vicinity of the island the next morning. 

 During the entire summer not a single young murrelet was seen after it had 



