The Ancient Murrelet 



and throat nearly to chin (where clouded with plumbeous dusky); black of head still 

 more overlaid with plumbeous, the sides at first with terminal skirting of plumbeous 

 dusky appearing as sharp transverse bars on white ground, then clearing to nearly 

 uniform plumbeous ashy; white feathering of corona and shoulders merely indicated. 

 It is not clear from material at hand whether the bird assumes adult characters the first 

 spring; probably not. At any rate adult birds in Monterey waters are beginning to 

 take on nuptial plumage in January, while unmodified juveniles are still to be found in 

 March. Downy young: Underparts pure white throughout; upperparts chiefly 

 mingled black and white, becoming pure black on top and upper sides of head, and on 

 cervix, wings, and flanks. Bill black; feet and tarsi yellowish in front, blackish behind. 

 Length of adult: 241.3-266.7 (9.50-10.50); average of 10 Monterey adults: length 

 (skins) 259.5 (10.20); wing 133.6 (5.26); culmen 13.2 (.52); gape 27.4 (1.08); depth at 

 rear convexity of culmen 6.9 (.27) ; tarsus 26.9 (1.06). 



Recognition Marks. — Robin size; white crown-stripes distinctive in summer. 

 In winter, nape more broadly sooty-plumbeous than B. marmoratus, bill much shorter 

 and showing yellowish on sides; chin and throat washed (this being the general effect, 

 it is really mottled) with plumbeous dusky, where B. m. is pure white. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in California. Nest: a burrow in bank or crevice in 

 cliff. Eggs: 2; elliptical ovate or elongate ovate, pale olive-buff to dull pinkish buff, 

 marked faintly, finely, and rather uniformly with olive-brown and violet-gray. Av. 

 size 61. 1 x 38.6 (2.405 x 1.52); index 63. Season: April 20-July 28; one brood. 



General Range. — Coasts and islands of northern Pacific Ocean and southern 

 portion of Bering Sea; breeding from Alaska Peninsula west along the Aleutians to the 

 Commander and Kuril Islands, and east to southeastern Alaska (Forrester Island). In 

 winter south to the coasts of California and Japan. 



Occurrence in California. — Fairly common winter resident on the ocean 

 throughout the length of the State; occasionally visits the harbors. 



Authorities. — Steineger (Synthliboramphus antiquus), Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 vol. ix., 1886, p. 524 (Monterey) ; Loomis, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., ser. 2, vi., 1896, p. 17 

 (occurrence off Monterey) ; Bishop, Condor, vol. vii., 1905, p. 141 (Pacific Beach, San 

 Diego Co.); Howell, Pac. Coast Avifauna, no. 12, 1917, p. 22 (s. Calif. ids.);Bfn/, U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., Bull. no. 107, 1919, p. 132 (life hist.; desc. nests, egg, etc.). 



AS IN THE CASE of the preceding species, but much more com- 

 monly, this old-man-of-the-sea spends his winters in California waters. 

 Records of occurrence abound, but the favored observers, with one ex- 

 ception, have not given us any full account of the bird's behavior in 

 winter. The happy exception is Mr. Loomis, who in the winter of 1894- 

 95 was stationed at the Hopkins Seaside Laboratory: 1 "About five hun- 

 dred yards from the surf, a belt of drift kelp, extending from the Seaside 

 Laboratory around Point Pinos, had gained an anchorage on the rocky 

 bottom. The narrow strip between this breakwater and the beach was 

 the favorite resort of Ancient Murrelets, except on the rare days when 

 there was a north wind, which invariably drove the bird life of the bay 

 away from the exposed south shore. A good many were also found near 



Reported in Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 2nd Series, Vol. VI., 1896. California Water Birds, No. II — Vicinity of 

 Monterey in Midwinter, by Leverett M. Loomis. pp. 17-1S. 



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