PIGEON GUILLEMOT 169 



that overhangs the rocks at North Landing. It is usually several days after 

 laying the first egg before the bird lays the second. 



In the Puget Sound region the pigeon guillemot has frequently 

 been found nesting in high cliffs or clay banks, sometimes 200 feet 

 above the sea, where it excavates its own burrows. Dawson (1909) 

 writes: 



In excavating a tunnel in a claybank the bird uses beak and claws and is 

 forced at the outset to maintain herself in midair, a task which, by reason of 

 her shortened wings, she accomplishes with no little exertion and infinitely 

 less grace than that, say, displayed by a bank swallow. Not infrequently the 

 bird encounters a bowlder a few inches in, and then the task is all to do over 

 again. If, however, excavation has progressed sufficiently, the tunnel is con- 

 tinued at right angles. These tunnels are driven at any height which pleases 

 the pigeon's fancy, and most of them are accessible only by rope, although 

 Mr. Bowles records an instance near Tacoma of a tunnel which was placed 

 only 2 feet above the beach line. Incubation lasts a little over three weeks, 

 and eggs are oftener hatched after the 10th of July than before that date. 

 The same burrows, if undisturbed, are used year after year. 



Throughout the whole length of the Aleutian chain the pigeon 

 guillemot was one of the common birds, sitting in little groups on 

 the kelp-fringed rocks about the harbors or flying out around us in 

 circles to satisfy its curiosity. We found it nesting during the latter 

 half of June under the piles of loose rocks and bowlders along the 

 shores, at the bases of rocky cliffs, as well as in the crevices in the 

 rocks above. Farther north, on the rugged headlands of St. Matthew 

 and Hall Islands, we saw a few pigeon guillemots flying out from 

 the crevices in the lofty cliffs or sitting in little groups on the ledges 

 among the puffins, auklets, and fulmars. They were undoubtedly 

 nesting here in the inaccessible crevices in the rocks, where the nests 

 of all these species were beyond our reach. 



Some observers state that the guillemot gathers small stones to 

 line its nest, but this hardly seems likely; perhaps it may prefer to 

 select hollows in which such small stones have accumulated, but it 

 frequently lays its eggs on the bare rock or ground or in whatever 

 debris it happens to find in a suitable cavity. It may scrape together 

 into a pile what material is available within easy reach, but I doubt 

 if it actually brings in any new material. The pigeon guillemot 

 regularly lays two eggs; generally several days intervene between 

 the laying of the first and second eggs, during which time incubation 

 is going on. 



Eggs. The eggs of the pigeon guillemot closely resemble those of 

 the black guillemot, but they average slightly larger and are usually 

 more heavily and more handsomely marked. The shape varies from 

 pointed ovate to elongate ovate. The ground color varies from 

 "pale glaucous green" to greenish white, bluish white, or pure 

 white. The eggs are usually heavily spotted or boldly blotched with 



