Part 3

NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS

Order I. DIVING BIRDS.

PYGOPODES.

Family 1. GREBES. Podicipidæ. 6 species.

Family 2. LOONS. Gaviidæ. 5 species.

Family 3. AUKS, MURRES, and PUFFINS. Alcidæ. 21 species, 3 subspecies.

Grebes are at home in reed-grown ponds or sloughs where their nests are made on rafts or islets of water-soaked vegetation. Their eggs number from four to eight, are dull white in color, and are usually covered by the bird with a portion of the nesting material when it leaves its home. Grebes occasionally rest on the shore, but are rarely found far from the water. When on land they may lie flat on their breasts or sit erect on their tails and entire foot, or tarsus. Their progress on land, as a rule, is awkward and they may use their wings as fore feet to assist them. In diving, Grebes sometimes spring partly from the water and then plunge downward head first, or they may quietly sink with scarce a ripple to mark the place of their disappearance.

Loons generally pass the summer on some large lake, and in the winter many of them live at sea. They nest, as a rule, on the shore, but so near the water that the parent bird may slide off its two dark brown, mottled eggs into its favorite element. Like the Grebes, Loons are expert divers, and birds of both families so often seek safety under the water rather than in the air that it is frequently difficult to make them fly. The young of both Grebes and Loons are born covered with feathers and take to the water shortly after birth, often using the back of the parent bird as an ever present island on which they may rest at will.

The Auks, Murres, and Puffins are sea birds which nest usually in large colonies on isolated islets or rocky, inaccessible shores of the northern part of the northern hemisphere. They lay one or two eggs, sometimes in an exposed position among the rocks with no attempt at nest-building, sometimes at the end of a burrow excavated by the birds. In the latter case, the young are reared in the nest; in the former, they sometimes enter the water at an early age.

The one egg laid by Murres is remarkable both in color and in shape. In color it varies from bluish green to buff, and is usually heavily scrawled with black. In outline it is pyriform or pear-shaped. When moved it does not roll away as would a hen's egg but revolves about its own tip. In this manner it retains its place on the narrow ledges often chosen by Murres for nesting-sites.

Grebes and Loons

=2. Holbœll Grebe= (_Colymbus holbœlli_). L. 19. _Ads._ Crown and hindneck glossy black; back blackish; throat, cheeks, and underparts white; foreneck and sides rufous. _Winter._ Above blackish brown; throat and underparts white; foreneck pale rufous. _Yng._ Similar but no rufous. _Notes._ "An explosive _kup_" and "An exceedingly loud harsh voice not unlike that of an angry Crow, but of much greater volume. The calls were also given more slowly and indeed with singular deliberation, _car_, _car_, three or four times, sometimes lengthened to _caar_, and again, broken and quavering like _ca-a-a-r_ or _ca-a-a-a-r_." (Brewster.)

Range.--North America, eastern Siberia, and Japan; breeds locally in the interior from about Lat. 50° northward; winters from Maine and British Columbia southward to South Carolina, Nebraska and Southern California, chiefly on the coasts.

=3. Horned Grebe= (_Colymbus auritus_). L. 13.5. _Ads., summer._ Crown, hindneck, and throat glossy black; plumes behind eye deep buff; back and wings blackish; foreneck, breast, sides, and lores chestnut; abdomen white. _Winter._ Above grayish black; below white.

Range.--Northern Hemisphere; breeds largely in the interior from eastern Quebec, northern Illinois, St. Clair Flats, North Dakota, and British Columbia northward; winters from Maine and British Columbia south to Gulf States and southern California.

=4. American Eared Grebe= (_Colymbus nigricollis californicus_). L. 13. _Ads._ Above, neck all around, and _upper breast_ brownish black; cheek tufts yellowish brown; flanks chestnut; belly white. _Winter._ Grayish brown above; white below.

Range.--Western North America east to Kansas; breeds locally from Texas and middle California north to Manitoba and British Columbia; winters from British Columbia, on the Pacific coast, and Texas southward.

=5. Least Grebe= (_Colymbus dominicus brachypterus_). L. 10. _Ads._ Throat black; _cheeks slaty_, above blackish; below grayish. _Winter._ Similar but no black or slate on throat or cheeks. Smallest of our Grebes.

Range.--Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas and southern Lower California south to northern South America.

=6. Pied-billed Grebe= (_Podilymbus podiceps_). L. 13.5. _Ads., summer._ Above brownish black; throat and band on bill black; foreneck, breast, and sides brownish; belly white. _Winter._ The same, but throat white, breast more rusty, bill without black band. _Notes._ A loud, sonorous, "_cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-cow-uh_, _cow-uh_, _cow-uh_, _cow-uh_."

Range.--Argentine Republic; north through Mexico and West Indies to Lat. of Hudson Bay; breeds locally throughout its range, but chiefly northward; winters from New Jersey, Illinois, and southern California southward.

=1. Western Grebe; Swan Grebe= (_Æchmophorus occidentalis_). L. 26. _Ads., summer._ Crown and hindneck black; back grayish brown; sides of head and under parts white. _Winter._ Crown and hindneck like back. _Notes._ A loud, rattling, grating whistle.

Range.--Western North America; In summer eastward to Shoal Lake, Manitoba; northward to southern Alaska; breeds locally from northern California and North Dakota northward; winters from British Columbia to central Mexico.

=7. Loon= (_Gavia imber_). L. 32. _Ads., summer._ Above, including whole neck, glossy black; throat and neck with white streaks; back and wings with white spots or bars; belly white. _Winter._ Above blackish _margined with grayish_; no white spots; below white. _Notes._ A loud, maniacal laugh.

Range.--Northern hemisphere; in North America, breeds from Maine, northern Illinois, Minnesota, and northern California north to Greenland and Alaska; winters from about southern limit of breeding range south to Gulf of Mexico, chiefly on coasts.

=8. Yellow-billed Loon= (_Gavia adamsii_). L. 36. Similar to No. 7, but larger and bill yellowish or whitish. _Notes._ Similar to those of No. 7, but harsher. (Murdoch.)

Range.--"Arctic America west of Hudson Bay, and northern Asia; casual in northern Europe." (A.O.U.)

=9. Black-throated Loon= (_Gavia arctica_). L. 27; W. 12. _Ads., summer._ Foreneck and back bluish black; throat, neck, and back streaked or barred with white; crown and nape _gray_; belly white. _Winter._ Similar to No. 7, but smaller. _Notes._ A dismal "_too-too-e-e._" (Turner.)

Range--Northern part of northern hemisphere; in America breeds from Hudson Bay north to Arctic coast; winters south to British Columbia, the Great Lakes and, casually, to Long Island.

=10. Pacific Loon= (_Gavia pacifica_). Similar to No. 9, but foreneck in summer reflecting deep blue or green; hindneck paler; smaller, W. 11. _Notes._ A harsh "_kok, kok, kok._" (Murdoch.)

Range.--Western North America; breeds at Point Barrow, Alaska, and eastward; winters south along Pacific Coast to Mexico.

=11. Red-throated Loon= (_Gavia lumme_). L. 25. _Ads., summer._ Foreneck chestnut, head and neck ashy. _Winter._ Similar to No. 7, in winter, but back spotted with white. _Notes._ A harsh "_gr-r ga, gr-r, gr-r-ga, gr-r._" (Nelson.)

Range.--Northern part of northern hemisphere; in North America breeds from New Brunswick to Greenland and Hudson Bay, and northwest to Alaska; winters south to South Carolina and southern California.

Auks, Murres and Puffins

=12. Tufted Puffin= (_Lunda cirrhata_). L. 15. _Ads., summer._ Cheeks white; a pair of long straw color plumes from behind eyes; rest of plumage sooty. _Winter._ Cheeks sooty, plumes usually absent. _Yng._ Similar to winter adult, but breast and belly whitish.

Range.--Northern Pacific; resident locally from Santa Barbara Islands north to Alaska. Accidental in Maine.

=13. Puffin= (_Fratercula arctica_). L. 13; W. 6; B. 1.8. _Ads._ Above, and foreneck blackish; cheeks and under parts white; bill in summer touched with bright red. _Notes._ A hoarse croak.

Range.--North Atlantic; breeds from Bay of Fundy north to Greenland; winters south to Long Island.

=13a. Large-billed Puffin= (_F. a. glacialis_). W. 7; B. 2.1. Similar to No. 13, but larger.

Range.--Arctic Ocean from Spitzenbergen to northern Greenland.

=14. Horned Puffin= (_Fratercula corniculata_). Similar to No. 13, but in summer with the throat blackish. _Notes._ "A hoarse snuffling, rattling note" (Nelson.)

Range.--"Northern Pacific from Kuril Islands to British Columbia." (A.O.U.)

=15. Rhinoceros Auklet= (_Cerorhinca monocerata_). L. 15.5. _Ads., summer._ A horn on base of bill; _two_ pairs of white tufts; above blackish; throat and breast grayish; belly white. _Winter._ Similar, but no horn. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad. but no tufts.

Range.--"North Pacific: breeding south (formerly) to the Farallones; in winter south to Lower California and Japan." (A.O.U.)

=16. Cassin Auklet.= (_Ptycoramphus aleuticus_). L. 9. _Ads._ A white spot above eye; above blackish; throat and breast grayish; belly white. Notes. A shrill, squealing "_Come bear-r-r, come bear-r-r._"

Range.--"Pacific Coast of North America from Aleutian Islands to Lower California; breeding south to San Geronimo Island (Lat. 30°)." (A.O.U.)

=23. Marbled Murrelet= (_Brachyramphus marmoratus_). L. 9.7. _Ads., summer._ No crest; above dark brown, finely mixed with rusty; below white, all feathers edged with brown. _Winter._ Wholly different; above gray; head dark; below white; a nearly complete white nuchal collar. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad. but blacker above; sprinkled with blackish below.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds from Vancouver north to Aleutian Islands; winters south to southern California.

=24. Kittlitz Murrelet= (_Brachyramphus brevirostris_). L. 9.5; B., from feathers on top, .4. _Ads., summer._ Above gray, mottled with buff; breast and sides mottled with buff and black; belly white. _Winter._ Sides of head, to _above_ eye, and lower parts white; above gray; outer tail-feathers white.

Range.--Northern Japan, Kamchatka and Aleutian Islands, east to Unalaska. (A.O.U.)

=25. Xantus Murrelet= (_Brachyramphus hypoleucus_). L. 10. Bill slender. _Ads._ Above slaty black; under surface of wing _white_; inner webs of outer primaries _white_.

Range.--Pacific Coast from Monterey south to Cape St. Lucas; breeding as far north as Santa Barbara Island.

=26. Craveri Murrelet= (_Brachyramphus craveri_). L. 10. Bill slender. _Ads._ Above slaty or brownish black; sides slaty; under surface of wings _dusky_, sometimes mixed with white.

Range,--Coasts of Lower California, from Cape St. Lucas north to Espiritu Santo Island in the Gulf of California, and to Natividad Island (lat. 28°) on the Pacific side. (A.O.U.)

=34. Dovekie= (_Alle alle_). L. 8. _Ads., summer._ Above blackish; inner wing feathers tipped with white; throat and breast blackish brown. _Winter._ Similar, but throat and breast white or mixed grayish.

Range--North Atlantic and East Arctic; in America breeds from Lat. 68° northward; winters south to Long Island, rarely to Virginia. Accidental in Michigan.

=17. Paroquet Auklet= (_Cyclorrhynchus psittaculus_). L. 10. _Ads., summer._ _No_ crest; a white plume from behind eye; above blackish; throat grayer, rest of under parts white. _Winter._ Throat white. _Notes._ "A low, sonorous, vibrating whistle." (Nelson.)

Range.--"North Pacific, from Sitka and the Kuril Islands northward." (A.O.U.) Five records for coast off San Francisco in winter.

=18. Crested Auklet= (_Simorhynchus cristatellus_). L. 10. _Ads., summer._ Bill red; a crest of slender recurved feathers; a pair of white tufts from behind eye; above sooty black; below grayer. _Yng._ Similar but bill brown; no crest or tufts. _Notes._ "A chirping note," (Nelson.)

Range.--"North Pacific from Kadiak and Japan northward." (A.O.U.)

=19. Whiskered Auklet= (_Simorhynchus pygmæus_). L. 7.5. _Ads., summer._ White feathers at base of sides of bill and, much lengthened, from above and below eye; a crest of slender recurved feathers; above, and throat dark slate fading into white belly. _Yng._ Similar but no crest; little or no white on head. _Notes._ "A low chattering note." (Nelson.)

Range--"North Pacific, from Unalaska through the Aleutian chain to Kamchatka." (A.O.U.)

=20. Least Auklet= (_Simorhynchus pusillus_). L. 6.5. _Ads., summer._ No crest; sides of head with white feathers; above blackish; chin sooty; throat white; under parts white, marked irregularly with sooty. _Winter._ Little or no sooty on breast. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad., but no white plumes.

Range.--"North Pacific, from Sitka and Japan north to Bering Strait." (A.O.U.)

=21. Ancient Murrelet= (_Synthliboramphus antiquus_). L. 10.5. _Ads., summer._ No crest; head and _throat_ black; broad white stripes behind eye; back gray; breast and belly white. _Winter._ Similar but throat white; no white head stripes. _Notes._ "A low plaintive whistle." (Nelson.)

Range.--North Pacific, from southern Vancouver Island and Japan northward; south in winter to Monterey, California; accidental in Wisconsin.

=27. Black Guillemot= (_Cepphus grylle_). L. 13. _Ads., summer._ Black; greater wing-coverts white, black at base; under surface of wings _white_. _Winter._ Above gray or black tipped with white; below white.

Range.--Coasts of northern Europe and North Atlantic; in America breeds from Knox Co., Maine north to southern Greenland; winters south to Quebec and Massachusetts; rarely to Toronto, Connecticut, and Long Island.

=28. Mandt Guillemot= (_Cepphus mandtii_). Similar to No. 27, but bases of greater wing-coverts _white_.

Range.--Arctic regions; breeds from Labrador and Hudson Bay north to northern Greenland and northern Alaska; in winter migrates but little southward; no satisfactory United States record.

=29. Pigeon Guillemot= (_Cepphus columba_). Similar to No. 27, but inner surface of wings _sooty gray_. _Notes._ A squealing, vibrant whistle.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds from Santa Catalina Island north to Bering Strait, west through Aleutian Islands to Kamchatka and northern Japan; winters in same region.

=30. Murre= (_Uria troile_). L. 16; B. 1.7. _Ads., summer._ Above and neck sooty brown; under parts and tips of secondaries white; sides with blackish streaks. _Winter._ Similar, but throat white washed with sooty. _Notes._ A hoarse _murre_ and squawking _a-r-r-r-r-r-rh_.

Range.--North Atlantic; breeds in North America from Bird Rock, Magdalen Islands, north to southern Greenland; winters south to Maine and, rarely, Ontario.

=30a. California Murre= (_U. t. californica_). Similar to No. 30 but larger, W. 8.2; B. 1.9.

Range.--North Pacific; breeds from Pribilof Islands south to Farallones; winters south to southern California.

=31. Brunnich Murre= (_Uria lomvia_). Similar to No. 30, but bill shorter, 1.2. In summer, head and throat browner, lower mandible swollen at sides and grayish at base.

Range.--North Atlantic and eastern Arctic; breeds in North America from Bird Rock, Magdalen Islands, north to Greenland; winters south to New Jersey and along St. Lawrence to Lakes Champlain and Ontario, rarely to Lake Michigan.

=31a. Pallas Murre= (_U. l. arra_). Similar to No. 31, but larger; W. 8.6; B. 1.5. _Notes._ "A peculiar growling or hoarse chattering note." (Nelson.)

Range.--North Pacific; south to Kadiak and Kamchatka.

=32. Razor-billed Auk= (_Alca torda_). L. 16.5. _Ads., summer._ Above sooty black, foreneck browner; tips of secondaries, line from bill to eye, and under parts, white. _Winter._ Similar, but foreneck white. _Yng._ Similar to winter ad. but without eye line. _Notes._ A hoarse grunt or groan.

Range.--North Atlantic; breeds from Bird Rock, Magdalen Islands, north to Greenland; winters south to Long Island and, rarely, to Ontario and North Carolina.

=33. Great Auk= (_Plautus impennis_). L. 29; W. 5.7. _Ads._ Above blackish; a large white spot before the eye; secondaries tipped with white; sides of neck and the throat seal brown; belly, white. Resembling No. 32 in general appearance but body much larger; wing, however, _shorter_.

Range.--Formerly, the coasts and islands of North Atlantic, south on American side to Florida (in winter?); now extinct.

Order II. LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS.

LONGIPENNES.

Family 1. SKUAS and JAEGERS. Stercorariidæ. 4 species.

Family 2. GULLS and TERNS. Laridæ. 37 species, 1 subspecies.

Family 3. SKIMMERS. Rynchopidæ. 1 species.

Skuas and Jaegers are pirates among the birds of the high seas. Bold and dashing, they pursue the swift flying Terns or much larger Gulls with equal success, forcing them to drop the fish they have captured and catching it ere it reaches the water.

Gulls (Subfamily _Larinæ_) are usually considered so characteristic of the sea that 'Sea Gull' is the name popularly applied to all members of the subfamily to which they belong. Several species, however, are equally at home, both in the winter and when nesting, on the larger bodies of water in the interior, and one species is rarely or never found on our sea coasts.

Gulls nest on the ground, on drifts of marsh-grass, on cliffs, and one species, at least, among American Gulls (the Herring Gull) has as a result of persecution, acquired the habit of nesting in trees.

Gulls feed from the surface of the water, picking up their food with their strongly curved bills in passing or while hovering, not by plunging into the water, as do the Terns. They are, in fact, the scavengers of the water, and perform a service of great value to mankind by devouring the bodies of various forms of aquatic animals which, in dying, come to the surface and, if cast ashore, might, in decaying, prove a source of disease.

For this reason it was especially unfortunate that the plumage of these birds became fashionable for millinery purposes, with the result that thousands of them were destroyed for their wings and breasts. In this country, however, through the efforts of the American Ornithologists' Union and the Audubon Societies, laws have been passed prohibiting the killing of these beautiful and useful birds, and wardens have been placed on their nesting grounds to protect them.

Gulls often rest in great flocks on the water, sitting high up and riding the waves buoyantly, but the Terns (Subfamily _Sterninæ_), after they have acquired the power of flight, are rarely seen on the water. They are lighter, more active birds than the Gulls, with longer wings and tails, and sharper, more pointed bills. They feed largely on small fish (the species called silversides being a favorite) of no value to man, which they secure by darting from the air with great speed and directness. When looking for food, Terns usually fly with the bill downward, a habit which will aid in distinguishing them from the Gulls, whose bill is carried in a line with the body.

Terns usually nest in large colonies on the beach of some isolated islet either on our sea coasts or in the interior. The nest is generally composed of a few wisps of sea-weed or grass, or the two or three eggs are not infrequently laid in a slight hollow in the sand or among the shells and pebbles.

Like the Gulls, Terns have been slaughtered in enormous numbers for millinery purposes; but in this country, at least, effective efforts are now being made to preserve them.

Skimmers nest in numbers on our Atlantic Coast from Virginia southward, laying their four eggs in a slight depression in the sand. In feeding, their mouth is held open and the longer, thin, lower mandible is dropped beneath the surface of the water, when, flying rapidly, they readily pick up food.

In young Skimmers, however, the two mandibles are of equal length and the lower mandible does not become appreciably longer than the upper one until the birds begin to fly. During the flightless period of the bird's life, the bill may be used to pick up food along the shore, but when the power of flight is acquired and with it ability to feed in the characteristic Skimmer manner, then the peculiar bill of these birds becomes fully developed.

The young of all the Gulls and Terns are born covered with down and can leave the nest a few hours after birth. The Noddy, however, is said to be several weeks in its stick nest, which, unlike other members of its group, it often builds in bushes.

The young are colored to harmonize with their usual surroundings. Young Skimmers are pale, sandy brown, of the same color as the sand in which they are hatched. Young Terns are darker, and young Laughing Gulls born in nests of reeds or meadow grasses, are the darkest of the three.

All young Gulls and Terns have the habit of squatting low near the ground in the presence of danger and remaining motionless until actually touched when they seem to realize that they have been seen and trust to their legs for safety.

Skua and Jaegers

=35. Skua= (_Megalestris skua_). L. 22. _Ads._ Above dark, dirty brown; below paler. _Yng._ Similar, but more distinctly streaked with yellowish, especially on head and neck.

Range.--North Atlantic, chiefly eastern; breeds from Shetland Islands northward; winters south to Gibraltar, and rarely Long Island. One specimen from California coast.

=36. Pomarine Jaeger= (_Stercorarius pomarinus_). L. 20; B. 1.5. Middle tail feathers rounded. _Ads. light phase._ Cap black; throat, breast, and neck, all around, white tinged with straw; back, lower belly, upper and under tail coverts brownish slate. _Ads. dark phase._ Dark brown, paler below. _Yng._ Above blackish brown margined with rusty; below white margined with dusky and buffy. _Notes._ "A low, hoarse, chattering cry." (Nelson.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds north of Lat. 70°; winters, mainly at sea, south to South America, southern Africa and Australia.

=37. Parasitic Jaeger= (_Stercorarius parasiticus_). L. 17; B. 1.1; its scaly shield _longer_ than distance from end of shield to tip of bill. _Ads._ Both phases similar in color to No. 36, but central tail feathers _pointed_, 8.6 long. _Yng._ Similar in color to No. 36 but smaller, bill shorter, middle tail feathers more pointed. _Notes._ "Loud wailing cries, interspersed with harsh shrieks." (Nelson.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds in Arctic regions; winters mainly at sea, from California, Great Lakes, and Massachusetts south to South America.

=38. Long-tailed Jaeger= (_Stercorarius longicaudus_). L. 21; B. 1, its scaly shield _shorter_ than the distance from its end to the tip of bill. _Ads._ In both phases resembling No. 36 but central tail feathers pointed and 12 in. long. _Yng._ Like No. 36 and No. 37, but to be distinguished by differences in bill measurements. _Notes._ "A hoarse _qua_, a shrill _phĕū-phĕū-phĕū-pheo_, when flying; or a rattling _kr-r-r-r-_, _kr-r-r-r_, _kr-r-r_, _krē-krē-_, _krē-krē_, the latter syllables shrill and querulous." (Nelson.)

Range.--Northern hemisphere; breeds in Arctic regions; winters mainly at sea, south to Gibraltar and Gulf of Mexico; one California record.