140 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



a circle, frequently alighting in the water and uttering a low, plain- 

 tive whistle." 



Winter. The fall migration consists of a general offshore move- 

 ment and a gradual southward drift, off the coast, as far south as 

 southern California. The ancient murrelet spends the winter on 

 the open ocean, northward nearly to the Aleutian and Commander 

 Islands, associating with the various species of auklets and other sea 

 birds, where an abundant food supply is to be found in the warm 

 waters of the Japan Current, drifting eastward across the North 

 Pacific Ocean and southward along the coast of North America. 



Prof. Leverett M. Loomis (1896) thus describes the behavior of 

 this species off the coast of California in winter: 



About 500 yards from the surf, a belt of drift kelp, extending from the Sea- 

 side Laboratory around Point Pinos, had gained an anchorage on the rocky 

 bottom. The narrow strip between this breakwater and the beach was the 

 favorite resort of ancient murrelets except on the rare days when there was 

 a north wind, which invariably drove the bird life of the bay away from the 

 exposed south shore. A good many were also found near the surf in the little 

 coves in the direction of Monterey and some were seen several miles out from 

 the land. In the sheltered places they chiefly frequented food appeared to be 

 abundant. They were great divers and swimmers under water, and voracious 

 in their pursuit of small fry, occasionally driving the fish to the surface in 

 the eagerness of the chase. Often not a murrelet would be in sight for some 

 time. Then a pair or a small company (the largest one observed numbered 

 nine individuals) would suddenly appear from the depths. Unlike the marbled 

 murrelets, they did not generally seek safety in flight when pursued. Neither 

 did they dive as soon or remain as long under water when keeping out of the 

 way of the boat. If a white cap developed near them they would always 

 escape from it by diving. Although over a hundred were taken in the nar- 

 row belt near the surf, they were more numerous there toward the last than 

 at the outset, new birds apparently coming in to take the places of those that 

 had been shot. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Breeding range. Coasts and islands of the North Pacific. From 

 the Queen Charlotte Islands, southeastern Alaska (St. Lazaria and 

 Forrester Islands) westward to Kodiak Island, the Aleutian Islands, 

 Commander Islands, Kamtschatka, Kurile Islands, and northern 

 Japan. 



Winter range. Southward from the Aleutian and Commander 

 Islands to British Columbia (Vancouver Islands), Washington 

 (Strait of Juan de Fuca and Olympia), Oregon (Netarts Bay), and 

 California (San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay, Santa Barbara 

 Islands, and Pacific Beach, San Diego County), and on the Asiatic 

 coast to Japan (Hakodate and Yokohama). 



Spring migration. The latest date of occurrence in California is 

 apparently April 25 (Pacific Beach); at Point Pinos, where the 

 bird is common, none were seen later than March 22. They have 



