FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 131 



Figure 26. — Black oystercatcher. 



In 1940, Gabrielson noted 6 of these birds at Whale Island, and 

 he saw 15 or 20 in the Semidi Islands. 



On May 16, 1936, we obtained a specimen of the black oyster- 

 catcher on Nagai Island, in the Shumagins. 



Chase Littlejohn (manuscript notes, 1887-88) wrote: "Found 

 from Sanakh to Kodiak in limited numbers. Their warning cry 

 at the approach of man if heard by the sea otter causes the 

 latter to make off at once, for this reason they are much hated 

 by otter hunters." Turner also mentions the reactions of sea- 

 otter hunters. 



The north side of Alaska Peninsula is not suitable for this bird 

 because it lacks a rocky-shore habitat. But the bird nests on Amak 

 Island, near the west end of the Peninsula, which is probably 

 the eastern limit of its nesting range in Bering Sea. 



In the Aleutian Islands proper, the black oystercatcher occurs 

 on nearly every island and is a fairly constant feature of the 

 rocky-shore fauna. On Attu Island, however, we saw none, and 

 we were assured by the native chief that they do not occur there. 

 This probably is true of all the Near Islands. We have no record 

 of this bird west of Kiska. Turner points out (1886) that the 

 distance between Kiska and the next island, Buldir, may be too 

 much of an over-water flight for this bird. Strangely enough, 

 in 1885, Turner had reported it as a rare visitor to Attu, occur- 

 ring oftener on Semichi and Agattu. 



