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Bird - Lore 



Quail, suggests the name of 'sea-quail,'' by which it is known to English- 

 speaking persons. The native name 'Kanooska' is of Russian origin, and 

 means 'Little Captain.' 



In length individual birds vary from eight and one-half to nine inches. 



The plumage in winter is the same as in summer, but the bill is markedly 

 different. The Crested Auklet not only molts its feathers like other birds, 

 but sheds the red, horny plates about the base of its beak after the breed- 

 ing season. 



The very young bird, whose appearance has not long been known, is a 

 ball of smoky down, in no way resembling its parents. In the immature 

 bird the frontal crest and white feathers beneath the eye are wanting or but 

 slightly developed, while the bill is much smaller and dusky brownish. 



At the Pribilofs, it is no uncommon sight to see fur seals, sea-lions, and 

 many kind of sea-birds, including Crested Auklets, in great abundance within 

 a radius of fifty yards. 



We need not concern ourselves, I think, about the preservation of the 

 Auklets. They dwell among the high cliffs and boulder-strewn beaches of a 

 thousand uninhabited islands, and know how to stow away their eggs so safely 

 that neither natives nor blue foxes can get them easilv. 



