Skip to Content
Abert’s Towhee Acadian Flycatcher Acorn Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher Allen’s Hummingbird Altamira Oriole American Avocet American Bittern American Black Duck American Coot American Crow American Dipper American Golden-Plover American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Oystercatcher American Pipit American Redstart American Robin American Three-toed Woodpecker American Tree Sparrows American White Pelican American Wigeon American Woodcock Anhinga Anna’s Hummingbird Arctic Tern Arizona Woodpecker Ash-Throated Flycatcher Atlantic Puffin Audubon’s Oriole Bachman’s Sparrow Baird’s Sandpiper Baird’s Sparrow Bald Eagle Baltimore Oriole Band-tailed Pigeon Bank Swallow Barn Owl Barn Swallow Barred Owl Barrow’s Goldeneye Bay-breasted Warbler Bell’s Vireo Belted Kingfisher Bendire’s Thrasher Bewick’s Wren Black Guillemot Black Oystercatcher Black Phoebe Black Rail Black Rosy-Finch Black Scoter Black Skimmer Black Swift Black Tern Black Turnstone Black Vulture Black-and-white Warbler Black-backed Woodpecker Black-bellied Plover Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Black-billed Cuckoo Black-billed Magpie Black-capped Chickadee Black-capped Vireo Black-chinned Hummingbird Black-chinned Sparrow Black-crested Titmouse Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-footed Albatross Black-headed Grosbeak Black-legged Kittiwake Black-necked Stilt Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Sparrow Blackburnian Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Blue Grosbeak Blue Jay Blue-footed Booby Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-headed Vireo Blue-throated Hummingbird Blue-winged Teal Blue-winged Warbler Boat-tailed Grackle Bobolink Bohemian Waxwing Bonaparte’s Gull Boreal Chickadee Boreal Owl Botteri’s Sparrow Brandt’s Cormorant Brant Brewer’s Blackbird Brewer’s Sparrow Bridled Titmouse Broad-billed Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Broad-winged Hawk Bronzed Cowbird Brown Booby Brown Creeper Brown Pelican Brown Thrasher Brown-capped Rosy-Finch Brown-headed Cowbird Brown-headed Nuthatch Buff-bellied Hummingbird Buff-breasted Flycatcher Buff-breasted Sandpiper Bufflehead Bullock’s Oriole Burrowing Owl Bushtit Cackling Goose Cactus Wren California Condor California Gull California Quail California Thrasher California Towhee Calliope Hummingbird Canada Goose Canada Jay (Previously Gray Jay) Canada Warbler Canvasback Canyon Towhee Canyon Wren Cape May Warbler Carolina Chickadee Carolina Wren Caspian Tern Cassin’s Auklet Cassin’s Finch Cassin’s Kingbird Cassin’s Sparrow Cassin’s Vireo Cattle Egret Cave Swallow Cedar Waxwing Cerulean Warbler Chestnut-backed Chickadee Chestnut-collared Longspur Chestnut-sided Warbler Chihuahuan Raven Chimney Swift Chipping Sparrow Chuck-will’s-widow Chukar Cinnamon Teal Clapper Rail Clark’s Grebe Clark’s Nutcracker Clay-colored Sparrow Cliff Swallow Colima Warbler Common Eider Common Gallinule Common Goldeneye Common Grackle Common Ground-Dove Common Loon Common Merganser Common Murre Common Nighthawk Common Pauraque Common Poorwill Common Raven Common Redpoll Common Tern Common Yellowthroat Connecticut Warbler Cooper’s Hawk Cordilleran Flycatcher Costa’s Hummingbird Couch’s Kingbird Crescent-chested Warbler Crested Caracara Crissal Thrasher Curve-billed Thrasher Dark-eyed Junco Dickcissel Double-crested Cormorant Dovekie Downy Woodpecker Dunlin Dusky Flycatcher Dusky Grouse Eared Grebe Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe Eastern Screech-Owl Eastern Towhee Eastern Whip-poor-will Eastern Wood-Pewee Elegant Tern Elf Owl Emperor Goose Eurasian Collared-Dove Eurasian Tree Sparrow Eurasian Wigeon European Starling Evening Grosbeak Ferruginous Hawk Field Sparrow Fish Crow Flammulated Owl Florida Scrub-Jay Forster’s Tern Fox Sparrow Franklin’s Gull Fulvous Whistling-Duck Gadwall Gambel’s Quail Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Glaucous Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glossy Ibis Golden Eagle Golden-cheeked Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Sparrow Golden-crowned Warbler Golden-fronted Woodpecker Golden-winged Warbler Grace’s Warbler Grasshopper Sparrow Gray Catbird Gray Flycatcher Gray Kingbird Gray Partridge Gray Vireo Gray-cheeked Thrush Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Great Black-backed Gull Great Blue Heron Great Cormorant Great Crested Flycatcher Great Egret Great Gray Owl Great Horned Owl Great Kiskadee Great-tailed Grackle Greater Pewee Greater Prairie-Chicken Greater Roadrunner Greater Sage-Grouse Greater Scaup Greater White-fronted Goose Greater Yellowlegs Green Heron Green Jay Green-tailed-towhee Green-winged Teal Groove-billed Ani Gull-billed Tern Gunnison Sage-Grouse Gyrfalcon Hairy Woodpecker Hammond’s Flycatcher Harlequin Duck Harris’s Hawk Harris’s Sparrow Heermann’s Gull Henslow’s Sparrow Hepatic Tanager Hermit Thrush Hermit Warbler Herring Gull Hoary Redpoll Hooded Merganser Hooded Oriole Hooded Warbler Horned Grebe Horned Lark Horned Puffin House Finch House Sparrow House Wren Hudsonian Godwit Hutton’s Vireo Inca Dove Indigo Bunting Ivory-billed Woodpecker Juniper Titmouse Kentucky Warbler Killdeer King Eider King Rail Kirtland’s Warbler Ladder-backed Woodpecker Lapland Longspur Lark Bunting Lark Sparrow Laughing Gull Lawrence’s Goldfinch Lazuli Bunting Le Conte’s Sparrow Le Conte’s Thrasher Least Bittern Least Flycatcher Least Grebe Least Sandpiper Least Tern Lesser Black-backed Gull Lesser Goldfinch Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lesser Scaup Lesser Yellowlegs Lewis’s Woodpecker Limpkin Lincoln’s Sparrow Little Blue Heron Loggerhead Shrike Long-billed Curlew Long-billed Dowitcher Long-eared Owl Long-tailed Duck Louisiana Waterthrush Lucifer Hummingbird Lucy’s Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird Magnificent Hummingbird Magnolia Warbler Mallard Mangrove Cuckoo Marbled Godwit Marsh Wren Masked Duck McCown’s Longspur Merlin Mew Gull Mexican Jay Mississippi Kite Montezuma Quail Mottled Duck Mountain Bluebird Mountain Chickadee Mountain Plover Mountain Quail Mourning Dove Mourning Warbler Mute Swan Nashville Warbler Neotropic Cormorant Northern Bobwhite Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Fulmar Northern Gannet Northern Goshawk Northern Harrier Northern Hawk Owl Northern Mockingbird Northern Parula Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Northern Waterthrush Northwestern Crow Nuttall’s Woodpecker Oak Titmouse Olive-sided Flycatcher Orange-crowned Warbler Orchard Oriole Osprey Ovenbird Pacific Golden-Plover Pacific Loon Pacific-slope Flycatcher Painted Bunting Painted Redstart Palm Warbler Pectoral Sandpiper Pelagic Cormorant Peregrine Falcon Phainopepla Philadelphia Vireo Pied-billed Grebe Pigeon Guillemot Pileated Woodpecker Pine Grosbeak Pine Siskin Pine Warbler Pinyon Jay Piping Plover Plain Chachalaca Plumbeous Vireo Prairie Falcon Prairie Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Purple Gallinule Purple Martin Purple Sandpiper Pygmy Nuthatch Pyrrhuloxia Razorbill Red Crossbill Red Knot Red Phalarope Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Merganser Red-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Sapsucker Red-cockaded Woodpecker Red-eyed Vireo Red-faced Warbler Red-headed Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker Red-necked Grebe Red-necked Phalarope Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Red-throated Loon Red-winged Blackbird Reddish Egret Redhead Ring-billed Gull Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Rock Pigeon Rock Ptarmigan Rock Sandpiper Rose-breasted Grosbeak Roseate Spoonbill Roseate Tern Ross’s Goose Rough-legged Hawk Royal Tern Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-throated Hummingbird Ruddy Duck Ruddy Turnstone Ruffed Grouse Rufous Hummingbird Rufous-capped Warbler Rufous-winged Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Sabine’s Gull Sage Sparrow Sage Thrasher Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow Sanderling Sandhill Crane Sandwich Tern Savannah Sparrow Say’s Phoebe Scaled Quail Scarlet Tanager Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Scott’s Oriole Seaside Sparrow Sedge Wren Semipalmated Plover Semipalmated Sandpiper Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-tailed Grouse Short-billed Dowitcher Short-eared Owl Slate-throated Redstart Smith’s Longspur Smooth-billed Ani Snail Kite Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Egret Snowy Plover Solitary Sandpiper Song Sparrow Sooty Grouse Sora Spotted Owl Spotted Sandpiper Spotted Towhee Sprague’s Pipit Spruce Grouse Steller’s Jay Stilt Sandpiper Summer Tanager Surf Scoter Surfbird Swainson’s Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Swainson’s Warbler Swallow-tailed Kite Swamp Sparrow Tennessee Warbler Thick-billed Murre Townsend’s Solitaire Townsend’s Warbler Tree Swallow Tricolored Heron Tropical Kingbird Trumpeter Swan Tufted Puffin Tufted Titmouse Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Upland Sandpiper Varied Bunting Varied Thrush Vaux’s Swift Veery Verdin Vermilion Flycatcher Vesper Sparrow Violet-green Swallow Virginia Rail Virginia’s Warbler Warbling Vireo Western Bluebird Western Grebe Western Gull Western Kingbird Western Sandpiper Western Screech-Owl Western Tanager Western Wood-Pewee Western-Meadowlark Whimbrel White Ibis White-breasted Nuthatch White-crowned Pigeon White-crowned Sparrow White-eyed Vireo White-faced Ibis White-headed Woodpecker White-rumped Sandpiper White-tailed Hawk White-tailed Kite White-tailed Ptarmigan White-throated Sparrow White-throated Swift White-tipped Dove White-winged Crossbill White-winged Dove White-winged Scoter Whooping Crane Wild Turkey Willet Williamson’s Sapsucker Willow Flycatcher Willow Ptarmigan Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Plover Wilson’s Snipe Wilson’s Warbler Winter Wren Wood Duck Wood Stork Wood Thrush Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay Worm-eating Warbler Wrentit Yellow Rail Yellow Warbler Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Magpie Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Yellow-headed Blackbird Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-throated Vireo Yellow-throated Warbler Zone-tailed Hawk

Pigeon Guillemot

Although these birds look like pigeons, they are actually water birds.

A small resident of rocky Pacific Coast habitats, the Pigeon Guillemot dives to the bottom of inshore marine waters to forage. Mainly using its wings for underwater propulsion, but its feet as well, the Pigeon Guillemot feeds at depths of up to 45 meters and in some cases stays submerged for over two minutes.

Pigeon Guillemots typically begin breeding at age three, four, or five. It is not uncommon for significant numbers of adults to fail to breed in a given year. In years of food shortage, the majority of pairs may not breed.

 

Description of the Pigeon Guillemot

BREEDING MALE

The Pigeon Guillemot is a small seabird with a thin neck and round head. Its bill is thin and black.  Black plumage with white wing patches and a black bar in the white patch.

Pigeon Guillemot

Photograph © Glenn Bartley

Female

Sexes similar.

Seasonal change in appearance

Winter birds are white with black mottling.

Juvenile

Juveniles resemble winter adults.

Habitat

Rocky coastlines.

Diet

Fish.

Pigeon Guillemot

Photograph © Glenn Bartley

Behavior

Forages by diving.

Range

Resident along much of the northern West Coast of North America.

Fun Facts

Adults alternate incubation duties at intervals ranging from 40 minutes to 17 hours.

Even unmated males defend territories.

Vocalizations

Whistles, trills, and screams are given on the breeding grounds.

 

Similar Species

Nesting

The nest is a scrape in a crevice or cave, or is placed under debris.

Number: 1-2.
Color: Blue-green with darker markings.

Incubation and fledging:  
– Young hatch at 26-32 days.
– Young fledge (leave the nest) in 29-54 days after hatching.

 

Bent Life History of the Pigeon Guillemot

Published by the Smithsonian Institution between the 1920s and the 1950s, the Bent life history series of monographs provide an often colorful description of the birds of North America. Arthur Cleveland Bent was the lead author for the series. The Bent series is a great resource and often includes quotes from early American Ornithologists, including Audubon, Townsend, Wilson, Sutton and many others.

Bent Life History for the Pigeon Guillemot – the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written.

 

PIGEON GUILLEMOT
CEPPHUS COLUMBA (Pallas)
HABITS

From the painted caves of the Santa Barbara Islands northward to the bold rocky islands of northern Bering Sea we found the pigeon guillemot, the Pacific coast representative of our familiar “sea pigeon,” everywhere common in the vicinity of rocky shores or high precipitous cliffs, where it finds congenial summer homes. South of the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula it is present throughout the year, but there is a decided migratory movement north of this line and probably a less noticeable migration throughout its range.

Spring: From its winter wanderings, at sea or along the coast, it returns in early spring to its breeding grounds. In the Commander Islands, according to Steineger (1885), this occurs as early as the middle of March, and farther north as soon as open water can be found. On their arrival at their breeding grounds the birds congreate about their favorite nesting sites, but are in no hurry to begin laying. Egg laying does not begin on the California coast much before the middle of May, and in the Aleutian Islands not before the middle or last of June. During the mating season the males indulge in many little squabbles and even vigorous combats. Dawson (1909) describes the encounter as follows:

A cockfight between rival suitors Is apt to be quite a spirited affair. As they face each other upon the surface of the water, the combatants hold their tails, inconspicuous at other times, bolt upright; and this, with their open mandibles disclosing a bright-red mouth and throat, gives the birds a somewhat formidable appearance. The actual scrimmage, however, is likely to take place beneath the water rather than upon It; and the onlooker has no means of guessing the battle’s progress till the weaker bird bursts from the water like a flying fish, and so by change of scene gains a momentary advantage of his pursuer or owns defeat outright.

Nesting: In the precipitous rocky cliffs of the Santa Barbara Islands are numerous large, deep caverns, worn away by the action of the waves, which have for unknown ages been pounding at the foundations of these solid walls of rock and carved them into fantastic shapes. At high tide or in rough weather most of them are inaccessible, but under favorable circumstances some of them can be explored in a boat or even on foot in safety. In the “painted caves” of Santa Cruz Island, one of the scenic spots of this region, we could row our boat far into the innermost recesses of picturesque winding channels and lofty, vaulted caverns of rock. A few cormorants were disturbed near the entrance and numerous pigeon guillemots darted past us from within, as the reports of our guns frightened them from their nests in the darkest corners. We were surprised to see also a number of house finches flitting about the high shelves and pinnacles of rock in the largest chambers, where they probably had nests within the reach of daylight. In such situations the guillemots lay their eggs in various nooks and crannies about the walls and roofs of the caves, in cavities under loose rocks, in open situations on flat rocks or shelves, or even on the sandy floor of the cave, if beyond the reach of daylight and water; as they seem to find security in darkness, these caverns offer many suitable nesting sites.

Much has been written about the nesting habits of the pigeon guillemot on the Farallone Islands, but the following extracts from Mr. Chester Barlow’s (1894) writings will suffice to give an idea of its normal nesting habits here and elsewhere:

The “sea pigeons,” or pigeon guillemots, are among the most interesting of the birds. They are lovers of the sea and prefer the rocks near the surf, when not incubating their eggs. We were fortunate in discovering a rookery of these birds, and had it not been late for fresh eggs, a splendid series could have been secured. The hill, at the summit of which is the lighthouse, is very steep, and the cliffs at the top are more or less honeycombed with burrows in which the puffins and auklets nest. Farther down is a stretch of loose, shifting chips of rock, while near the bottom are numerous boulders, some of gigantic proportions, under and between which are cavities in which the guillemots nest. As one approaches this rookery many of the birds are seen sitting upright, softly “whistling,” but upon close approach those on the rocks take wing, while their mates flutter from among the rocks and join them. Then, by a careful search of promising-looking cavities, one may secure a nice series.

No nest is constructed in which to deposit the eggs, but almost invariably the eggs repose upon a collection of small granite chips or pebbles gathered by the birds. Both birds assist at incubation, and I have a male bird taken with a set of two eggs. The rookery described is not near the ocean, but many of the gulliemots nest in holes in the cliffs above the sea. At any time groups of birds may be seen gathered on the rocks near the surf. I have noticed young ones so .close to the water that the spent force of a “roller” would almost wash them nway.

Mr. Milton S. Ray (1904) says of this species on the Farallones:

These birds became more abundant every day during our stay, but they did not begin to lay until the end of the first week in June. We found wellincubated single eggs as well as pairs; hence incubation must really have begun, although the majority of all the eggs we found were fresh. The nests, merely pebble-lined slight hollows, were located under projecting ledges, bowlders, or in spaces between piles of rocks, where they could be seen, not Infrequently, from above. I also noticed a number of pairs nesting under the wooden platform that overhangs the rocks at North Landing. It is usually several days after laying the first egg before the bird lays the second.

In the Puget Sound region the pigeon guillemot has frequently been found nesting in high cliffs or clay banks, sometimes 200 feet above the sea, where it excavates its own burrows. Dawson (1909) writes:

In excavating a tunnel in a claybank the bird uses beak and claws and lB forced at the outset to maintain herself in midair, a task which, by reason of her shortened wings, she accomplishes with no little exertion and infinitely less grace than that, say, displayed by a bank swallow. Not infrequently the bird encounters a bowlder a few inches in, and then the task is all to do over again. If, however, excavation has progressed sufficiently, the tunnel Is continued at right angles. These tunnels are driven at any height which pleases the pigeon’s fancy, and most of them are accessible only by rope, although Mr. Bowles records an instance near Tacoma of a tunnel which was placed only 2 feet above the beach line. Incubation lasts a little over three weeks, and eggs are oftener hatched after the 10th of July than before that date. The same burrows, if undisturbed, are used year after year.

Throughout the whole length of the Aleutian chain the pigeon guillemot was one of the common birds, sitting in little groups on the kelp-fringed rocks about the harbors or flying out around us in circles to satisfy its curiosity. We found it nesting during the latter half of June under the piles of loose rocks and bowiders along the shores, at the bases of rocky cliffs, as well as in the crevices in the rocks above. Farther north, on the rugged headlands of St. Matthew and Hall Islands, we saw a few pigeon guillemots flying out from the crevices in the lofty cliffs or sitting in little groups on the ledges among the puffins, aukiets, and fulmars. They were undoubtedly nesting here in the inaccessible crevices in the rocks, where the nests of all these species were beyond our reach.

Some observers state that the guillemot gathers small stones to line its nest, but this hardly seems likely; perhaps it may prefer to select hollows in which such small stones have accumulated, but it frequently lays its eggs on the bare rock or ground or in whatever debris it happens to find in a suitable cavity. It may scrape together into a pile what material is available within easy reach, but I doubt if it actually brings in any new material. The pigeon guillemot regularly lays two eggs; generally several days intervene between the laying of the first and second eggs, during which time incubation is going on.

Eggs: The eggs of the pigeon guillemot closely resemble those of the black guillemot, but they average slightly larger and are usually more heavily and more handsomely marked. The shape varies from pointed ovate to elongate ovate. The ground color varies from “pale glaucous green~~ to greenish white, bluish white, or pure white. The eggs are usually heavily spotted or boldly blotched with the darkest shades of brown or black; also with underlying spots and blotches of variout shades of drab, gray, lilac, or lavender, producing very pretty effects; many eggs are less boldly marked or even finely speckled. The measurements of 51 eggs in the average 60.5 by 41 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 68.5 by 41, 64 by 43.5, 57 by 39.5, and 60 by 38.5 millimeters.

Young: Mr. W. Otto Emerson, in his notes sent to Major Bendire, gives the period of incubation as 21 days and says that both sexes incubate by turns, both of which statements are corroborated by others. He also says that the young are fed principally on small fish and do not leave the nesting site for the water until they are fully fledged. After the first few days the young become very lively; they dislike daylight and, if exposed to it, will run away and hide in the remotest crevices; it is very difficult to catch them, much more so to photograph them, among the loose rocks where they live until big enough to fly. It is well that they are so secretive in their habits, for they have many enemies and protection is much needed at this critical time for the survival of the species.

Plumages: The young guillemot is hatched with a complete covering of soft, thick down, “fuscous black’~ above, shading into “clove brown” below. Late in July or early in August the juvenal plumage begins to appea.r on the sides of the breast. The juvenal plumage is similar to the corresponding plumage in the black guillemot, but it is usually more dusky both above and below, the dusky markings on the breast sometimes predominating. This plumage is worn through September, when a partial and gradual molt produces the first winter plumage. Young birds in winter are darker than adults, especially on the upper parts, which are almost wholly “fuscous black” without any white edgings; the throat and breast are mottled with dusky. A partial prenuptial molt in young birds takes place during March, April, and May, at which the black first nuptial plumage is partially acquired; but young birds may still be recoguized by the wings, in which the white patches are mottled with black and which are not molted until the following summer. Beginning about the middle of August, a complete postnuptial molt occurs, and by the last of September, when the young bird is between 14 and 15 months old, the adult winter plumage is acquired and old and young birds become indistinguishable.

The adult winter plumage differs from the first winter in being almost wholly white below and in having the scapulars broadly edged with white, the feathers of the back narrowly edged with white and the pure white wing patches. Adults have a prenuptial molt involving all the contour feathers, at which the black plumage is acquired; this molt is very much prolonged or variable, beginning often in February, sometimes in January, and lasting well into June. I have in my collection birds in full nuptial plumage, taken as early as May 2, and birds still showing many white feathers, taken as late as June 15. The postnuptial molt in adults is complete; it begins before the middle of August and is usually completed during September.

Food: The food of the pigeon guillemot seems to consist of small fish, mollusks, crustacea, and other marine animals which it obtains by diving as well as on the surface. Doctor Grinnell (1910) speaks of seeing one flying about its nesting site, “with a long yellow marine worm hanging from her bill.”

Behavior: In flight or on the water the pigeon guillemot closely resembles the black guillemot, the only distinguishing mark being the black wedge in the white wing patch, which is not very conspicuous at a distance. It flies swiftly and strongly, usually close to the water, and seems to prefer to fly out and around an approaching boat in a circle. It is a good diver and “flies” under water, using only its wings for propulsion, with its conspicuous red feet held straight out behind, probably to help it in steering. It swims buoyantly and gracefully, frequently with its head below the surface, as if feeding or looking for food. It congregates in small parties on the low rocks near the shore, to basic in the sun or to rest, where it stands nearly upright with its tail resting on the rock or sits upon its breast in a more restful attitude. Its feet are strong enough for it to stand upon and it can walk about quite freely.

The only notes which I have heard it utter are a faint, shrill, whistling call note and a hissing note of angry protest when disturbed on its nest. Nelson (1887) says:

Their common note is a low piping whistle, and Dr. Bean heard them uttering calls like the chipping of a sparrow.

The pigeon guillemot is associated on its breeding grounds with a great variety of other species, practically all of the seabirds of the Pacific coast, among which it seems to be always a peaceful and harm less neighbor. It never seems to disturb the eggs or young of other species. Its own eggs and young are usually too well concealed in the crevices among the rocks for the gulls to find them. Accord ing to Prof. Harold Heath (1915), these birds suffer greatly from the depredations of the northwestern crow, on Forrester Island, Alaska, for he observed that: Out of six pairs only one succeeded In hatching a brood, and cracked and punctured shells Indicated the culprit. The natives report that the fish crow destroys the eggs of every species of birds where nests are exposed, and they declare It to be fully as great a pest as the eagle.

Fall: The fall migration, which is nothing more than a withdrawal of the species from the northern portion of its breeding range, occurs late in the fall, with the closing in of the ice. Nelson (1887) says that, “when hunting far out at sea the Eskimo of Norton Sound find theni late in November about the holes in the ice.” South of the Aleutian Islands the species is present throughout the winter, but apparently less numerous than in summer because individuals are more widely scattered on the open sea; they are much shyer and are clad in their inconspicuous winter coat of gray and wliitc. Probably many of them spend the winter way off on the open ocean.

DISTRIBUTION
Breeding range: Coasts and islands of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. From California (Santa Barbara Islands and Farallones), Oregon (Three Arch Rocks), Washington (Pu get Sound region), and British Columbia (Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands) along the coast of southern Alaska and throughout the Aleutian Islands; northward along the coast and islands of Bering Sea to Bering Strait; and from the Kurile Islands and the Commander Islands northward along the Siberian coast to East Cape and Koliutschin Bay. Perhaps rarely north to Cape Lisburne, Alaska.

Winter range: From the Aleutian Islands and the Pribilof Islands southward to California (San Clemente Island) and northern Japan.

Spring migration.: Migration in spring is limited to the return of the birds to their breeding places from the near-by sea. In Norton Sound, Alaska, this takes place from the last of March to the first of April, if open spaces occur in the sea ice. First arrivals at the Commander Islands were noted March 14.

Fall migration: They desert the breeding localities as soon as the young are raised and resort to the ocean in the vicinity. About Norton Sound they sometimes occur as late as November.

Egg dates: Farallone Islands: 63 records, May 3 to July 9; 32 records, June 1 to 26. British Columbia and Washington: 21 records, May 9 to July 13; 11 records, June 12 to 23. Santa Barbara Islands: 16 records, May 15 to July 18; 8 records, June 6 to 28. Southern Alaska: 7 records, June 15 to July 5; 4 records, June 18

About the Author

Sam Crowe

Sam is the founder of Birdzilla.com. He has been birding for over 30 years and has a world list of over 2000 species. He has served as treasurer of the Texas Ornithological Society, Sanctuary Chair of Dallas Audubon, Editor of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All About Birds" web site and as a contributing editor for Birding Business magazine. Many of his photographs and videos can be found on the site.

Let others know your thoughts or ask an expert

Would you like to get new articles of birds (Once a month?)

No SPAM! We might only send you fresh updates once a month

Thank you for subscribing!

No thanks! I prefer to follow BirdZilla on Facebook