34 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVII 
Ancient Murrelet there is apparently no external mark of identification. The 
natives state that Cassin Anklet arrives on Forrester Island about March 1, 
and as it commences nesting earlier than the Ancient Murrelet it would be pos- 
sible at that time to accurately locate and estimate the number of nests. In 
the latter part of May (the 20th) when their burrows were first found by us 
the eggs were in an advanced stage of incubation, and the murrelets had long 
since commenced the cleaning of their burrows. It was accordingly impossi- 
ble to determine the exact numbers of the two species. It can be said, 
however, that the Cassin Auklet has been found to ocmipy several sites from 
the sea level to a height of five hundred feet, and the presence of egg shell 
fragments in many places indicates their general distribution over the island 
and in small numbers on Lawrie and South islands. As in the case of the An- 
cient Murrelet, the openings of the burrows are located about the roots of 
trees, or beneath partially buried logs or stones. The tunnel itself ranges from 
two to four feet in length, and is usually only sparingly branched. Whether 
they occupy the same home season after season is not known. It is certain, 
however, that several of the tunnels have been occupied at one time by mice, as 
is evidenced by accumulations of gnawed cones in some of the lateral galleries, 
or in the material scraped from the main canal and accumulated about the en- 
trance. 
On Forrester Island the duties of nest building are no more onerous than 
characterizes the species elsewhere. A few twigs of the Sitka spruce together 
with old or mouse eaten cones and occasional fragments of moss appear to be 
all that is necessary. The length of the incubation period was not determined, 
though Captain John (a remarkably keen and accurate naturalist of the Hai- 
dah tribe) says that it lasts “about two weeks”. Fully three weeks more are 
required to bring the fledgling to the time of departure from the nest. During 
the time of incubation, the female occupied the burrow in five cases at least, 
and the indians claim that she is fed during the night by the male and never 
leaves the nest until the young is several days old. The food of the young and 
of the adults as well, was found to consist of copepods and an undetermined 
species of shrimp or amphipod. 
The Haidah name of the Cassin Auklet is “hatzah”, referring to their 
nocturnal note. In ancient times this species figured largely in the native’s 
bill of fare, and large numbers were annually taken by means of snares or 
were attracted by bonfires and subsequently knocked down. The fishermen 
reported on several occasions that in the early morning these birds had struck 
their tents, and in a stunned condition were readily taken. In conclusion it 
may be said that while the species is widely distributed throughout the island 
there is no reason to believe that they are numerous. They are met with occa- 
sionally out at sea, but their numbers are relatively few. 
5. Synthliboramphus antiquus. Ancient Murrelet. Of the three noc- 
turnal burrow-inhabiting birds nesting on the main island the Ancient Murrelet 
appears to be the most abundant. In many places the hillsides are riddled 
with their galleries from the shore line to a height of from four to five hun- 
dred feet. Their range is therefore identical with that of the Cassin Auklet, 
but after fairly extensive observations it is safe to say that the murrelet out- 
numbers the auklet by at least twenty to one. On our arrival (May 16) the 
burrows gave evidence of recent cleaning since loose masses of spruce cones, 
needles and earth formed a fresh looking mound in front of the entrance. As 
