The Cassin Anklet 
Sanitation in the Auklet burrows is a thing unknown, and the young¬ 
sters are stuffed with a semi-liquid food which smells like an abandoned 
fish-market. An abundance of slaty down insures the chick against 
rheumatism; and his quarters must seem comfortable enough to him, for 
he sits tight until he is full grown; and the only mark of adolescence left 
when he quits the burrow is a little tipping of gray down. When haled 
forth and released by the hand, the Auklet invariably dives downward, 
skimming low, first over the ground or the rocks and then over the water, 
and seeming to dread exposure. The reason for this is explained by 
Howell, who says that the Cassin Auklets suffer a great deal from the 
depredations of Duck Hawks. Indeed, it is the fashion of this master 
pirate to quarter himself near some thriving colony of Auklets, and to 
kill for sport even after his hunger has been appeased. 
Save for the reve¬ 
lations of the nesting 
season, the Cassin 
Auklet is one of the 
least observed of birds. 
It takes care not to 
be seen by daylight 
in the vicinity of a 
nesting colony, and 
it feeds habitually, 
whether in pairs or 
small companies, well 
out to sea. The win¬ 
ter storms play sad 
havoc with these birds, 
and it is only from 
examining the wreck¬ 
age cast up on shore 
that one may guess 
how large the propor¬ 
tion of Auklets really 
is in our winter bird 
population. 
Taken on the Farallon Islands Photo by the Author 
CASSIN AUKLET, PULLUS. IN SITU 
A BOARD UNDER WHICH THE MOTHER BIRD HAD HIDDEN HER NEST HAS BEEN 
REMOVED 
1473 
