CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 39 



July 3rd, 1899. Very few large gulls were seen elsewhere about 

 the islands, but they were said to breed on the west coast of 

 Moresby island. {Osgood.) 



During May. 1877, this bird was abundant about Unalaska, and 

 also upon the Akutan and Sannak islands to the east. It breeds 

 abundantly on the Near islands, and has been taken at Sitka and 

 Kadiak, and extends south to California. The centre of abund- 

 ance of this species during summer may be located along the 

 Aleutian islands. {Nelsofi.) Occurs sparingly at St. Michael, but 

 is more common on the Aleutian islands and Kadiak. {Tttr?ier.) 

 Common at Port Clarence, Alaska. {Dr. Bea?i.) The common 

 gull of Sitka, Alaska, and the only one found breeding there. Two 

 adults were taken at Orca, Prince William sound. {Gri?mell.) 

 Reported by Stone to be quite common at Homer, Alaska, and a 

 few specimens seen at Seldovia. {C/iapnia?i.) 



Breeding Notes. — The usual nesting places of this gull are 

 the faces of rugged cliffs, at whose base the waves are continually 

 breaking, and where the coast exposes its wildest and most broken 

 outline. On the other hand, Mr. Dall relates that about the i8th 

 of July, at Coal harbour, on the Shumagins, on a peculiar, high, 

 round island, abundance of eggs were found, but most of them 

 pretty well incubated. In this case, the island being covered with 

 tall rank grass, the nests were almost concealed, and, either from 

 the dead grass naturally occurring in the depressions, orotherwise, 

 all of them had more or less dry grass in and about them. The 

 gulls built solely on the top of the highest part of the island, in 

 the grass, and never on the lower portions near the shore, nor on 

 the shelves of the rock}^ and precipitous sides. {Nelson.) The 

 nests found near Sitka were slight hollows in the ground among 

 the tall grass on the highest parts of the islands. These nest- 

 hollows contained a slight lining of dry grasses. Two or three 

 eggs constituted a set. {Grintiell.) 



45. Kumlien Gull. 



Lams kumlieni Brewst. 1883. 



This species is quite common in the upper waters of Cumber- 

 land gulf, where it breeds ; arrived with the open water and 

 soon began nesting ; the nest was placed on the shelving rocks 



