108 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



that they are most rapid flyers, and in the dim evening and morning light 

 it is a difficult feat to follow their bulletlike flight against the sky. If the day 

 be foggy or dark, the usual early morning departure may be delayed for an 

 hour or so. Under such circumstances they rest in front of their burrows, or 

 wander about the neighborhood, uttering their curious nasal cry of four short 

 notes rapidly repeated. 



Behavior. Doctor Grinnell (1899) gives an interesting account of 

 his efforts to get within gunshot of a rhinoceros auklet swimming on 

 the water, which well illustrates its power of diving and swimming 

 for long distances under water. He also says: 



The manner and pose of the rhinoceros auklet, resting or swimming on the 

 water are quite different from those of any other sea bird met with around 

 Catalina. It is short and chunky, with head drawn in close to the body, leaving 

 scarcely any tract that might be called a neck. The water line comes up to 

 about the lower edge of the wings when closed against the body, so that the 

 bird does not rest lightly on the water, like a gull or phalarope. The head is 

 held on the same line as the body, directly out in front, so that the top of the 

 head and back are on the same level. The whole bird at a little distance 

 looks most like a block of wood floating on the water. We did not once see 

 one flying. They all preferred to dive. One which was shot at and probably 

 slightly wounded, attempted to take flight but failed to get clear of the water, 

 and after dragging along the surface for several feet, instantly dove. The great 

 ease and rapidity which is shown in diving and traveling under water is re- 

 markable. We heard no note, and there was never but one in sight at a time. 

 They were mostly seen about a quarter of a mile from shore. 



Prof essor Heath (1915) writes: 



In former times the rhinoceros auklet was far more numerous than it is at 

 the present time, according to the reports of the Indians. As late as 50 years 

 ago many of the slopes now untenanted afforded nesting sites for these and 

 other birds, and the hills now occupied had a far greater population than one 

 finds to-day. In those earlier times the sky was literally darkened as they put 

 out to sea, and the sound of their cries was a veritable babel. The diminution 

 might naturally be ascribed to the activity of the natives, who relish this 

 species above all others, but the natives themselves meet such a claim with the 

 evidence of many scores of years when, with a much larger tribe than at present, 

 they gathered eggs and birds in vastly greater numbers without any appreciable 

 decline in the bird colony. Their explanation rests solely upon the belief that 

 the decrease is due entirely to the rank growth of underbrush and ferns which 

 form a tangled mat too dense to permit of ready flight to and from the bur- 

 rows. In former times, even within the memory of some of the older men 

 of the tribe, the country was much more open; and it is certainly a readily 

 observed fact that this species avoids the thickets and seeks out more open 

 ground. Occasional nests are found in salmonberry patches, but well-worn 

 runways invariably lead into the open. 



Mr. Dawson (1909) describes the method used by the Indians for 

 catching the auklets on Destruction Island as follows : 



When the female begins to brood her single egg the male spends his days at 

 sea, returning after nightfall to feed his mate and, it may be, exchange places 

 with her. The Indians take advantage of this habit to catch the birds, which 



