FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 43 



haps both birds and whales were attracted by the swarming in- 

 vertebrate life. 



Cottam and Knappen (1939) reported on 10 stomachs of this 

 species that were collected in Alaska. They tabulated the total 

 contents as follows: 



Amphipods, 139c ; schizopods, 15% ; undetermined crustaceans, 20.8% ; 

 squid (Loligo sp.) 16.1%; undetermined marine invertebrate flesh, possibly 

 squid, 29.4% ; and fish, 5.7%-. Gravel was found in each stomach and 

 averaged only slightly less than 40% of the contents. 



In their summer range, the only foe of the shearwater that we 

 could discover is the northern bald eagle. The shearwater fur- 

 nishes one of the principal items of the eagle's diet, probably 

 because of its great numbers. These birds also perish in storms, 

 perhaps the storm mortality rate is higher than that caused 

 by natural enemies. Early in September 1937 a heavy rain- 

 storm was raging for several days about Unimak Island. While 

 the storm was still at its height, we began to find dead shear- 

 waters on a strip of beach. They finally totaled over 30; one 

 bird was still alive. The birds from this one sample beach 

 may have been representative of the destruction of birds over 

 a large area. In 1925, I frequently found dead shearwaters on the 

 beaches of Alaska Peninsula. 



On May 31, 1936, as we approached Cave Point on Unimak 

 Island, a lone shearwater was sitting on the water. C. S. Williams 

 shot it for a specimen, and it was found to be poor in flesh. On 

 June 30, 1937, Scheffer shot one that was in a similar condition 

 near Rat Island. As it sat on the water, we noticed that it 

 appeared to be "dumpy." Grinnell (1900) says, "On July 4th, 

 1899, I secured a single speciment about 4 miles off Cape Blossom. 

 It was resting on the water not far from a small icefloe and was 

 in an emaciated condition." 



Certainly, there is a mortality element of some sort operating 

 on the shearwater, as on other sea birds. 



Occasionally, shearwaters come close to land. At least 1 was 

 seen in Nelson Lagoon, and in 1925 they were noticed at the 

 entrances to Izembek Bay, on the Alaska Peninsula, and at least 

 1 flew over the shallow bay. Some of the large flocks noted in the 

 turbulent waters of various island passes are not far from the 

 rocky points. 



Chief Hodikoff, of Attu Island, declared that shearwaters 

 formerly nested abundantly on Agattu Island and that a few 

 were seen on Semichi Island in 1932. He said there were "not 

 many" now since the introduction of blue foxes. He stated that 



