CRESTED AUKLET 121 



hidden to see and were beyond our reach; the rocks were far too large 

 for us to move. 



On Walrus Island, in the Pribilof group, we found them nesting 

 with the paroquet and least auklets in exactly similar situations under 

 the loose bowlders which were piled up on the beach. Here we had 

 no trouble in moving the rocks sufficiently to uncover the eggs, but 

 we experienced considerable difficulty in identifying the eggs. 

 Whereas the paroquet auklet usually sat complacently on its egg or 

 crouched near it, the crested auklet usually ran away as soon as we 

 began to move the rocks, and we would soon see it scurrying out 

 from under our feet and flying off to sea. Only occasionally did we 

 succeed in catching one near enough to its egg to identify it. The 

 single egg was laid on the bare rock or ground or on a bed of small 

 loose stones, which could hardly be called a nest. At the time of our 

 visit, July 7, 1911, the eggs of this and the other auklets were in 

 various stages of incubation, but no young were found. 



The following account by Mr. C. H. Townsend (1913) would seem 

 to indicate that the center of abundance of the crested auklet lies 

 south of the Alaska Peninsula. He writes: 



On the evening of August 1 the Albatross came to anchor in Yukon Harbor 

 at Big Koniushi Island, of the Shumagin group. While the ship was working 

 her way into this wild and uninhabited bay everyone noticed the increasing 

 numbers of crested auklets. The farther in we went the more numerous they 

 became, until the captain called me to the bridge to tell him what I could about 

 them. 



The birds were nearly all of the crested species and were present in myriads. 

 The surface of the water was covered with them and the air was filled with 

 them. Large, compact flocks launched themselves into the air from the lofty 

 cliffs and careened toward the vessel with great speed and whirring of wings. 

 The crested auklets were here more numerous than were the "choochkies" 

 (least auklets) at St. George, in the Pribilofs, celebrated as the center of 

 abundance for that species. 



Twilight did not come until after 9 o'clock, and during the long evening the 

 birds were amazingly active. Flocks of them continued to come in rapid suc- 

 cession from the cliffs, many passing close to the ship at high speed and swing- 

 ing about the harbor. After the anchor was dropped near the cliffs a loud 

 blast of the whistle made the auklets still more abundant. The bird legions 

 started from the cliffs, until the misty air and the water about the ship was 

 alive with them. It was a memorable ornithological display, and when darkness 

 came the birds were still moving actively. 



These birds appeared to be nesting chiefly in crevices in the cliffs, although 

 they could be heard under the bowlders near the beaches. 



Eggs. The single egg of the crested auklet can not always be dis- 

 tinguished with certainty from that of the paroquet auklet, although 

 it is usually slightly longer and more pointed. In shape it varies 

 from "ovate" to pointed ovate, or more rarely to "rounded ovate." 

 The texture of the shell is finely granulated, but hardly rough, and 

 without any luster. The color, in all I have seen, is pure white or 



