120 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ALASKA. 



The note of this bird is a peculiar grunt of two or three syllables. It is impossible to repre- 

 sent the sound by any combination of letters. 



In former years when the Aleuts of one village or island made war on their neighbors the early 

 morning notes of this bird indicated to the people the time of day for making an attack. 



The Eskimo of Norton Sound use the red processes at the base of the bill of this bird to attach 

 to the fish-lines to attract the fish. 



19. Simorhynchus pygmjeus (Gmel.). Whiskered AuJelet. [See Plate I.] 



Three specimens of this Auklet were obtained at Atkha Island, June 12, 1879. Two of them 

 were adult males in the breeding plumage and one in the downy stage. 



They were brought to me by a native, who had killed them near the base of Korovinsky 

 volcano. 



They were reported to be common in that neighborhood. 



I saw several individuals near the outer islet at the entrance to Nazan Bay, on Atkha Island. 

 They were not recognized in any other part of the Aleutian Chain, excepting on the Nearer Group, 

 where they were quite abuudant. 



The summer plumage of the adult male is dark slate on head, nape, back, and wings. The 

 shoulders have an obscure bronzy shade, the tip of the wings becoming lighter. The throat is a 

 little lighter than the head and fades to light grayish on the abdomen. The tuft on the hesid 

 consists of five to seven filamentous feathers, of color of head, curved forward so that their tips 

 hang directly over the tip of the bill. These feathers, which form the tuft, become lighter iu color 

 according to age of the individual. In front of the eye and above the angle of the mouth three 

 filamentous feathers of pure white point directly backward. These form the upper angle of a V- 

 shaped white patch, which has its forward angle beginning at the base of the upper mandible. 

 The other branch continues back of the rictus and terminates in white filaments, which extend 

 back the same distance as the terminal filaments of the upper branch. Behind the eye is a white 

 narrow stripe, consisting of several very long, white filaments, the longer of which extend about 

 half an inch beyond the shoulders when the bird is sitting on the water. 



The young in the downy stage is of dark, sooty-brown, somewhat lighter on the abdomen. 



In the adult the bill is deep vermilion, with bluish tip. The feet, toes, web and claws dark. 

 Iris black. In the young the bill and feet are dusky. 



20. Simorhynchus pusillus (Pall.). Least Auklet. 



Many individuals of this Auklet were seen while I was on a sailing vessel travelling from one 

 place to another among the Aleutian Islands. This species occurs along the entire chain, and as 

 far east as Kadiak. On the north side of Aliaska I observed it only in the vicinity of Amak 

 Island, near the western end of the peninsula of Aliaska. 



In 1874 I observed it in abundance near Saint Mathew's Island. 



This bird does not come near the present settlements on the Aleutian Islands, while at Saint 

 George's Island, of the Pribylof Group, it is wonderfully abundant almost iu the village. 



They are very active while on the water, and disappear like a flash when they dive. Near 

 Semichi and Atkha I observed quite a number of these little birds sitting on the water. 



21. Synthliborhamphus antiquus (Gmel.). Ancient Murrelet. 



A single specimen of this bird was obtained at Atkha Island, June 12, 1879. It was brought 

 to me by a native, who had shot it at the base of Korovinsky volcano, on the northeast end of 

 Atkha Island. 



Upon inquiry I was informed that these birds are plentiful in that locality, and breed in holes 

 made in the turf, or sod, overhanging the brow of the cliffs. 



Among the Nearer Islands this Murrelet is abundant in summer, breeding, and is sparingly 

 resident; rarely coming to Attu, but more plentiful on the western end of Semichi and the south 

 side of Agattu. 



24. Brachyramphus kittlitzti (Brandt). Kittlitz's Guillemot. [See Plate II.] 

 A single specimen of Kittlitz's Guillemot was obtained April 24, 1879, at Iliuliuk village on 



