

30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL UUSEUM. vol. 38. 



lov Islands, a group of three small volcanic islands, one of which was 

 first reported in 1 TUG, another in 1884, while the third we were 

 fortunate enough to be the first to observe. This newest island 

 was still steaming violently from fissures over its entire surface, but 

 the other two islands were apparently cold. About Castle Island 

 (which was the first to have been reported) could be seen with a glass 

 myriads of sea birds, flying all about the shores, over the sea, and 

 to a considerable height over the land. I have never anywhere seen 

 any approach to the enormous number of birds about this island. 

 On the sea in this vicinity large numbers of this species were seen, 

 but even more numerous were the murres (Uria); so, as no other 

 species of the family were observed, I judged that these were the birds 

 which chiefly made up the vast numbers seen over the land. I may 

 also mention that about the shores of Castle Island we saw many 

 sea lions (Eumetopias stelleri), this being the only place where we 

 found them in abundance. 



About the rocky shores of Atka we saw the Tufted Puffin frequently, 

 though in the parts we visited it could not be called abundant. At 

 Agattu, however, it was the most numerous sea bird, occurring by 

 hundreds along the cliffs and bluffs in the vicinity of Macdonald Bay 

 where we lay at anchor. Most of them were flying aimlessly back 

 and forth along the coast, now and then taking short excursions out 

 over the sea only to return a few minutes later, while many were 

 sitting on the water. We found dozens of their burrows on shore, 

 mainly along the gravelly grass-covered bluffs facing the sea, but 

 also along the sides of a ravine which makes inland half a mile or 

 more from the coast from the head of Macdonald Bay. Most of the 

 burrows (which are somewhat large for the size of the bird and 

 resemble those made by foxes) were rather high, the lowest being 

 some 15 or 20 feet above the beach, and in the ravine they chose 

 the steepest places, near the top. No eggs were found, although many 

 of the birds were seen to come out of the burrows, and one was 

 captured by some sailors from the ship before it had time to get 

 away. Perhaps tin-- was largely due to a rather general reluctance 

 on the pail of the men to investigate deep holes tenanted by birds 

 with such formidable beaks. 



After leaving Agattu we found these birds common oil' Semichi, 

 about Attn and ( Jopper [sland, and everyw here at sea. On Torporkov 

 ("Puffin") [sland, at the entrance to the harbor of Xikolskoi, Bering 

 Island, we found them by thousands, and they were especially abun- 

 dant on the water in the outer harbor. 



On the way from Bering Island to Petropaulski they were not at 

 all numerous; they were rather common about Avacha Bay, but 

 the numbers here could not be compared with those about the 

 western Aleutian or Commander islands. We saw them frequently 



