UJT. 12 BIRDS OP ST. LAWEEXCE ISLAND PEIEDMANN 5 



companied with sea fowl of various sorts, and observed some guil- 

 lemots and small crested hawks." Cook believed to the end that 

 Gierke's and St. Lawrence were two separate islands, and we find 

 that on the map in Pennant's "Arctic Zoology " ^ the island is called 

 Gierke's Island. 



St. Lawrence Island was first actually visited in 1816, when 

 Kotzebue's party, of whom Eschscholtz was the naturalist, landed 

 there. They returned again in 1817, when Louis Ghoris also landed 

 there on June 28 (July 10 old style). Kotzebue's contribution to 

 knowledge of the fauna of the island is not very extensive. All he 

 wrote in this connection was that the " * * * reindeer, which 

 belongs to both coasts, seems to be wanting in St. Lawrence Island." 



Ghoris^ figures AJcella pygmaea from St. Lawrence Island, this 

 being the first definitely identifiable bird record for the island. 



Gaptain Beechey took his ship, H. M. S. Blossom^ to St. Lawrence 

 Island in 1826, and Vigors, in his report on the ornithology of that 

 famous voyage,^ lists Giceronia pusllla (under the name Gerorhinca 

 occidentalls) as being brought off from St. Lawrence Island in 

 great abundance. 



The island was not visited again until the now historic cruise of 

 the CoTwin in 1881, when E. W. Nelson and John Muir, among 

 others, landed on St. Lawrence. Nelson recorded about 20 forms of 

 birds, this being the first attempt at a list of its avifauna. The total 

 time spent on the island was short. May 28 to 31 and June 7 to 9. 

 H. W. Elliott and Lucien M. Turner also made short visits to St. 

 Lawrence Island about this time. 



A number of the members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition 

 spent part of a day, July 13, 1899, on St. Lawrence Island. The 

 landing party included Robert Ridgway, C. Hart Merriam, A. K. 

 Fisher, and L. J. Gole. Unfortunately but little opportunity was 

 given to make observations on the birds. They collected 16 speci- 

 mens of 6 species and made notes on 3 others. Doctor Fisher lias 

 very kindly sent me his notes of that day for use in this paper. 



During the summer of 1896, Alvin Seale and N. B. Scofield made 

 a journey to Point Barrow and passed close by St. Lawrence Island 

 on July 1, and noted three species there. 



W. Sprague Brooks and Joseph Dixon spent a good part of June, 

 1913, on St. Lawrence Island and noted 22 kinds of birds, collecting 

 specimens of the majority. F. Seymour Hersey was on the island 



^ I'eunant, Thomas, Arctic zoology, vol. 2, map. 2, 17S5. 



• Choiis, L., Voyage pittoresque autour du monde, p. 20, 1822. 



' Vigors, N. A., in Beechey, P. W., The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage ; compiled 

 from the collections and notes made by Captain Beecliey, the officers and naturalist of 

 the expedition during a voyage to the Pacific aud Bering's Straits performed in His 

 Majesty's ship lilossom under the command of Capt. F. W. Beechey. • ♦ * in the 

 years 1825, 26, 27, and 28. Ornithology, pp. 13-40, pi. i-xliv, 1839. 



