16 NE8T8 AND B&aS OF 



20. LEAST AUKLET. Symorhynchus pusillus (Pall.) Geog. Dist.— Coasts an4 

 Islands of the North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan northward to Bering Strait. 



Nelson says: "Of all the water fowl of Bering Sea this trim little bird is the 

 most abundant." Like the Paroquet and Crested Auklets, this species has a great 



preference for the deep western half of Bering Sea, ex- 

 cept along the Aleutian chain. Mr. Nelson does not 

 think they breed north of the strait, except on some of 

 the cliffs on the Siberian shore. By the 1st to the 6tU 

 of June they arrive in great numbers on these islands, 

 and begin to lay. It is said to be comically in- 

 80 Least Auklet A - different to the proximity of man, and can be ap- 



vLT, Male, Summsk. proached almost wjthin an arm's length before 



taking flight, sitting upright and eyeing one with great wisdom and profound as- 

 tonishment. Dr. Coues says: "This curious little bird, the smallest of all the Auks, 

 and one of the least of all water birds, inhabits the coasts and islands of the North 

 Pacific, resorting to favorite breeding places by millions, with S. pslttaculus and S. 

 cristatellus. The nesting is similar, the single egg being laid in the recesses of 

 rocky shingle over the water; size 1.55x1.12."* The bird is not known to come soutli 

 so far as the United States. 



21. ANCIEIXT MTJRRELET. SyntliUhoramphus antiquus (Gmel.) Geog. 

 Dist.^Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan northward. 

 Accidental in Wisconsin. 



The Black-throated Guillemot, or Murrelet, is found in the North Pacific Ocean, 

 breeding on the islands and along the coasts from Sitka northward. It breeds in 

 abundance on Near Islands, where a few are resident. On the Commander 

 Islands they also breed. Nests that have been found of this species were 

 in holes in banks, or in burrows in the ground, similar to those used 

 by the Fork-tailed Petrel. On some of the islands of Bering Sea, however, the birds 

 are known to deposit their eggs in the crevices of cliffs. A single egg is laid, pale 

 buff in color, with small longitudinal markings, somewhat subdued, of lavender- 

 £ray and light brown. Sizes range from 2.15 to 2.50 long by 1.40 to 1.55 broad. 



22. TEMMICK'S MITBEELET. Synthliboramphus wumizusume (Temm.) 

 Creog. Dist.: — Coasts and islands of the North Pacific, from Japan and (Washington V) 

 northward. 



The Japanese Murrelet, according to the best evidence at hand, is not entitled 

 to a place in the avifauna of North America. Mr. Ridgway remarks that it is "very 

 doubtfully American." Mr. Nelson in his "Birds of Alaska" says: "The present 

 species has been credited to the northwestern coast of America, and I mention it 

 here merely to call attention to the fact that no explorer has found it in the region 

 covered by this paper." It has since been eliminated from the A. O. U. Check List.f 



23. MARBLED MURRELET. BrachyrampUus marmoratus (Gmel.) Geog. 

 Dist. — Coast and islands of the North Pacific; on the American coast from San Diego 

 northward, and breeding as far south as Vancouver Island. 



This is another of the diminutive Murres confined to the Pacific Ocean. There 

 seems to be little known concerning its nidification, but its nesting habits and eggs 



* Key to North American Birds, p. 809. 



t Cf. Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mua. IX, 1886, p. 524. 



