LORQUINIA 
Published by the Lorquin Natural History Club 
(Organized— August 1913) 
Volume II 
Number 5 
Los Angeles, CaL, December 1917 
10 
Pe 
Cents 
r Copy 
NOTES ON SOME MOLLUSC-EATING BIRDS 
By George Willett 
During the past six summers spent in southeastern Alaska, I have 
been interested in noting the number of species of birds that subsist 
to a greater or less extent on molluscs. 
Among the land birds partial to such a diet are the Northern 
Raven (Corvus corax principalis) , and the Northwest Crow (Corvus 
caurinus). Numbers of these birds may be seen at each low tide walk- 
ing over the rocks near the water's edge, lifting the sea weed aside 
with their bills, in search of particularly choice morsels, such as the 
Northern Abalone (Haliotis kamschatkana) , Giant Chiton (Crypto- 
chiton stelleri), and the Rubber Chiton (Katherina tnnicata). Shells 
of these three species are frequently found in the woods at a -consid- 
erable distance from the water, having been carried by the birds to 
favorite roosting places to be eaten at leisure. On one occasion I had 
gathered a half dozen abalones and deposited them on top of a flat 
rock, intending to take them to camp later as an addition to my bill of 
fare. While less than thirty feet away, I heard a rustle of wings and 
looked up just in time to see a raven flying away with my dinner. The 
abalones had clung together and, though quite a load for the bird, he 
had not dropped any when last seen, flying into the woods. 
Another interesting bird of the locality, also a shell-fish eatei', is 
the Black Oystercatcher (Haeinatopus hachmani) . This bird, one of 
the largest of our waders, occurs in suitable localities along our whole 
coast from A/[exico to Bering Sea. Its black body and wings, flesh-col- 
cred feet and legs, brcht reel chisel-shaped bill, and loud whistling sail 
notes render it very conspicuous. It is known to the Alaskans as Red- 
billed Snipe and is frequently utilized for food. As far as I was able 
to ascertain, the oystercatcher subsists principally on limpets and the 
shells of these are often used as a lining for the nest, a cavity in the 
rocks, never far from the water's edge. 
There are several species of our wild ducks that feed largely on 
shell fish. Among the most notable of these are the three Pacific Coast 
