12 WATER BIRDS 



29. PIGEON GUILLEMOT.— Ceppkus columba. 



Family • The Auks, Murres, and Puffins. 



Length: 13.50. 



Adults in Summer: Uniform blackish except wings, where black basal 



half runs to point, making a black wedge between two white patches ; 



feet red ; bill black and slender. 

 Adults in Winter: White, varied on upper parts with black ; wings and 



tail as in summer. 

 Young: Similar to winter plumage of adult. 

 Downy Young : Uniform black above, under parts gray. 

 Geographical Distribution : Coasts and islands of the North Pacific from 



Behring Strait to Southern California. 

 Breeding Range : From San Nicholas Island northward. 

 Breeding Season : Approximately, May 1 to August 1. 

 Nest : Behind or under boulders or in dark places, as near the water as 



possible. 

 Eggs : 2 ; light green-blue, thickly marked with lilac, mostly at larger 



end. Size 2.43 X 1.62. 



The Pigeon Guillemot, "so like a guillemot and so like 

 a pigeon," is very abundant on the Farallones. It is a 

 pretty, graceful bird, first cousin to the murre, 

 which it somewhat resembles, being of a soft, 

 dark brown color. Two points im- 

 press you at first, — its conspicuous 

 scarlet .feet, and the broad white 

 band on the wing. Like many 

 sea birds, it stands with the body in 

 a vertical position, supported by the 

 long foot, after the manner of a penguin. 

 Its curious nest is made of pebbles, carried 29. "The Baby 

 one by one in its bill and deposited in a 

 circle in dark crannies of the rocks or hidden under boul- 

 ders. They seem to serve chiefly as a rim to keep the eggs 



