47 
forest. At the north end of Queen Charlotte islands, an almost fresh 
egg which agreed with the postmortem specimen from Prince of Wales island, 
and which was neither of Cassin’s Auklet nor Ancient Murrelet was found 
in a burrow in an Auklet colony. Details of the nesting of the Marbled 
Murrelet is one of the desiderata of west coast ornithology. 
29. Pigeon Guillemot. Ceppkus columba, L, 13*50. In summer (Figure 87a): 
solid greyish black with conspicuous white wing patch and bright red feet and legs. 
Juveniles (Figure 87b) and winter birds: underparts 
white, above mostly black, but the white feathers are 
tipped with black and the black ones broadly edged 
with white, the wings being as in summer 
Distinctions. Colour in summer is absolutely dis- 
tinctive. In autun n and winter the blended coloration 
and heavy frosting of the black are almost equally 
recognizable. Figure 87 
Field Marks. Summer adult: an all black bird Pigeon Guillemots; scale, $. 
with white wing patches and bright red feet. Too Summer; b, Juvenile and winter, 
large for a Murrelet and too small for a Murre. 
Nesting. In crevices of the cliffs and under rocks on steep shores. 
Distribution. Coasts of Bering sea and the Pacific ocean south to California. 
One of the commonest inhabitants of our seacoasts and familiar to all 
who frequent them. It is less gregarious than many of its relatives and 
nests alone rather than in rookeries, though sometimes common interest 
attracts numbers to limited localities. 
This is the western representative of the Black Guillemot of the 
Atlantic, Cepphus grylle, from which it differs only in having the white 
wing-spot divided by a black bar. 
Subfamily — Alclnae. Auks and Murres 
30. Common Murre. (Including California Murre.) Uria troille. L, 16. The 
Common Murre in summer is white below, with head and neck dark seal brown, and 
back and wings black. In winter the throat is light 
(Figure 88) veiled with more or less greyish, and 
the brown is replaced with black almost unicolour 
with the back. 
Distinctions. The Murre can hardly be confused 
with anything on the British Columbia coast except 
the Thick-billed Guillemot ( Pallas' Murre ) which 
may occasionally occur in winter, though it has not 
as yet been so recognized. It is very similar to this 
species, but has a shorter, thicker bill. 
Field Marks. Murres are rather easily recog- 
nized in life by general characteristics and size. 
The otherwise strongly characterized Tufted Puffin is the only sea-diver that approaches 
it in size. The Rhinoceros Auklet has a general resemblance to it, but is much smaller and 
has a short bill and an evenly dark greyish throat. 
Nesting. In large colonies amongst rocks and crevices in bold sea faces. 
Distribution. The coast and islands of Bering sea and the Pacific south to California. 
Probably on British Columbia coasts, generally confined in breeding season to the outer 
shores of the islands and mainland and seldom seen on the inner channels except in winter. 
SUBSPECIES. The subspecific representative of the Common Murre on the 
west coast is the California Murre Uria troille calijomicus. 
Figure 88 
Califonua Murre; scale, $. 
Winter. 
The number of Murres that find breeding room on some sea-cliffs is 
astonishing. At the edge of the rocky shelves they gather as closely as 
they can stand, like files of soldiers, bearing strong resemblance to the lines 
of Penguins that we see in pictures from the Antarctic. 
