514 TllK DIVING BIllD.S - PYGOI'ODEri. 



portion becomes mucli siualler tliaii in (lie lirecilin^^-MeuKiin) are Nlied, j,'ivin(,' tliat member ii totally 

 (llirureiit appeuranee. In thin staj,'(' the bird is the .l/c« lelrwula of ruUas ; while before reaching 

 maturity it in the Uria dubiii uf the Hume author. 



The Crested Auk is cminontly oceanic, anu, like several others of this remarkable 

 group, peculiar to the Northern Taculit! Ocean and liehring's Sea, and eonmion both 

 to the Asiatic and the Aniericiin coasts ; rarely resorts to land, and aiiparently only 

 for the purposes of breeding, which takes ])lace from May to August. 



Examples of this spet-ies were taken at Simoda and in the Hay of Yedo, .Ta])an, 

 by tlu! naturalists of Captain I'erry's Expedition ; and Mr. II. Whitely ("Ibis," 1S(!7) 

 mentions having cai)tured two others in a voyage between Vokohania and Ilakodadi. 

 It was blowing a gale off the land at the time, and several others were observed. 

 Specimens of this bird were also procured at Kadiak by Mr. liischoff. 



Mr. Dall, in his Notes on the Avifauna of the Aleutian Islands eastward from 

 Unalashka, speaks of the Crested Auk as having been fmind abundant in very large 

 Hocks outside of Captain's Ray, Unalashka; but says that it was rarely seen inside 

 tlu! liay except during very severe storms. It was resident there, as well as at the 

 Shumagins. In his Notes on the IJirds found west of Unalashka, he refers to this 

 sjiecies as being abundunt off the shore in large Hocks, which covered acres. It is 

 a resident species ; but from Kyska eastward it is rarely seen in bays or harbors. 

 Several specimens were shot at Plover liay. Eastern Siberia, by Cajjtain Everett 

 Smith. 



It is called the CanoosJkle by the natives of the I'rybilof Islands, where it was 

 found by ]\Ir. Elliott, who speaks of it as a fantastic-looking bird, conspicuous by 

 reason of its curling cre.st and bright crimson bill. It breeds there in company viith 

 the Ciceroiilit pusUla, but is jjvesent in small nund)ers as compared v the latter, 

 there being only a few thousand pairs at St. I'aul's, and relatively more on St. 

 George's. 



It makes its appearance early in May, and rejjairs to chinks and holes in tne rocky 

 cliffs, or deep down under large bowlders and rough basaltic shingle, to lay — nuiking 

 no nest whatever, depositing the egg upon the bare earth or rock. But so well do 

 these birds succeed in secreting it, that, although he was constantly upon the ground 

 Avhere several thousand pairs were laying, lu; was unable successfully to overturn the 

 rocks under which they hide, or get more than four eggs ; which number was the 

 result of over a hundred attempts. The note of this bird while mating is a loud 

 clanging, honk-like sound ; at all other seasons it is silent. It lays but one egg, 

 and the parents take turns in the labor of incubation and in feeding their young. 

 The egg is rough, pure white, but with frequent discolorations, and, as compared with 

 the size and weight of the parents, very large ; it is of an elongated oblong-oval 

 shape, the smaller end being quite pointed. Length, 2.10 inches ; width, 1.40. Mr. 

 Elliott did not see any chicks, nor coidd he get any information as to their appearance 

 from the natives ; but he shot the young as they came out for the first time from 

 their hiding-places, fully fledged with the exception of the crest. The time was 

 from the 10th to the 15th of August, and they were then as large as the old birds, 

 and of the same color ami feathering. In this species there is no sexual variation in 

 size or plumage, males and females appearing i)recisely alike. The bright crimson 

 bill varies considerably in its relative strength and curve, the slenderer bill not being 

 confined to the young birds, some old ones having the light and more pointed beak. 



Mr. Adams mentions (" Ibis," 1878) obtaining two specimens that had been jjic^ked 

 up at sea by a native, June 14, in Norton Sountl, Alaska. They were weak and half 



