VOL. IV. ] - Lar and Feathers. ' 365 
seem to be the birds most effected in the region of San Diego, 
but all of the common species are apt to show black blotches at 
times. For a long time after the condition was first noticed I 
was at a loss to account to my own satisfaction for the origin. 
The theory that the birds had been feeding about the carcass of 
a whale or seal and gotten their plumage greasy from that or other 
Sources was anything but satisfactory in view of the appearance 
of the stain and the species affected. Western grebes and Pacific 
fulmars—white phase—were sometimes seen with the entire 
lower plumage matted into a solid black mass, and not infre- 
quently such birds were found dead on the beach. Whether their 
déath was caused by the condition of their plumage I am unable 
to say, but from the appearance of some of the worst cases I 
should say that it probably had something to do with it. 
_ As such specimens were so obviously worthless I have carefully 
avoided them, and until the present season my observations were 
limited chiefly to the living birds and those but little affected. 
On July 11 of the present year, however, a Puffinus griseus 
was shot off San Diego and while the feathers of the left side 
and flank were glued together in a solid sheet it was by far too 
desirable to discard on that account, and an effort was made to 
Save it, and after a liberal application of gasoline it was admitted 
to the cabinet minus a part of its plumage that was uncleanable. 
This specimen—the first that had fallen into my hands in a 
condition suitable for examination—explained very clearly the 
mystery of the many stained plumages; it was due solely toa 
sticky, soft mass of asphalt. 
I have frequently found small blotches of this substance 
varying from the size of a postage stamp to several inches or a 
foot in diameter floating about on the surface of the sea, evidently 
coming from some submarine source to the north, where the 
oil shales reach the Coast in the region of Santa Barbara. 
This substance when it first comes to the surface contains 
enough volatile matter to render it about the consistency of 
molasses, and cause it to stick to anything with which it comes 
in contact. As the volatile gases escape it becomes hard and 
tough, encasing the bird that is so unfortunate as to swim into 
a floating mass in a coat more suitable for a turtle or armadillo 
than a member of the feathered kingdom. 
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