This is bird note.

The bearing sea in winter is a realm to which most people,

aside from some very hard fishermen, give a wide birth.

Winter in this northern sea framed by Alaska and Siberia is frigid, stormy, and dark. But remarkably, some birds seem right at home here. The crested

Auckland is one such bird. A petousin of puffins, the crested ochlet stands 10 inches high, weighs 9 ounces,

and is feathered in charcoal gray. This little seabird takes its name from a comical crest curling

out over the top of its large orange bill. If that's not whimsical enough, crested

auklets bark like chihuas.

And to top that off, the seabirds exude an odor of oranges from a chemical they produce that repels bothersome ticks.

Crested auklets nest in immense colonies on Bering Sea islands and remain nearby through winter.

Picture a flock of tens of thousands of crested alklets

flying low across the wave tops, yipping like an army of chihuahuas,

while trailing a perfume of fresh citrus.

Today's show brought to you by the Bobbilink Foundation.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann. You're going to be.