Tan., 1915 
BIRDS OBSERVED ON FORRESTER ISLAND, ALASKA 
33 
their route it is certain that they are most rapid flyers, and in the dim even- 
ing and morning light it is a difficult feat to follow their bullet-like flight 
against the sky. If the day be foggy or dark the usual early morning depart- 
ure may be delayed for an hour or so. Under such circumstances they rest in 
front of their burrows, or wander about the neighborhood, uttering their curi- 
ous nasal cry of four short notes rapidly repeated. 
In former times the Rhinoceros Anklet was far more numerous than it is 
at the present time, according to the reports of the indians. As late as fifty 
years ago many of the slopes now untenanted afforded nesting sites for these 
and other birds, and the hills now occupied had a far greater population than 
one finds today. In those earlier times the sky was literally darkened as they 
put out to sea, and the sound of their cries was a veritable babel. The dimin- 
ution might naturally be ascribed to the activity of the natives, who relish 
this species above all others, but the natives themselves meet such a claim with 
the evidence of many scores of years when, with a much larger tribe than at, 
Fig. 15. Egg and nest of Rhinoceros Auklet with side of burrow 
CUT AWAY 
present, they gathered eggs and birds in vastly greater numbers without any 
appreciable decline in the bird colony. Their explanation rests solely upon 
the belief that the decrease is due entirely to the rank growth of underbrush 
and ferns which form a tangled mat too dense to permit of ready flight to and 
from the burrows. In former times, even within the memory of some of the 
older men of the tribe, the country was much more open ; and it is certainly a 
readily observed fact, that this species avoids the thickets and seeks out more 
open ground. Occasional nests are found in salmon berry patches, but well 
worn runways invariably lead into the open. 
The food of the Rhinoceros Auklet, whether young or old, consists wholly 
of sand launces, according to the reports of the natives, and an examination of 
a few stomachs supports their claim. The young birds are fully developed and 
able to fly before leaving the nest. 
4. Ptychoramphus aleuticus. Cassin Auklet. Although several attempts 
were made to distinguish the burrows of the Cassin Auklet from those of the 
