66 ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS. 



SO well defined white spot on the inner web ; the third primary has 

 the white tip and the ill-defined white spot, though smaller, on the 

 inner web, without any subapical spot on the outer web, however. These 

 feathers are fresh, in fact, not yet fully out, and the gray parts lying 

 between the spots are of a little more saturated gray than the rest of 

 the quill. 



No. 92827 is a downy young, only a few days old. The general color is 

 of a very light grayish brown, whitish on the abdomen, and spotted with 

 blackish on head and upper parts generally. It is very much like the 

 downy young of L. argentatus, but has the dark spots and mottlings on 

 the back much darker. 



The Glaucuous-winged Gull (Russ. TschaiM) is the only gull of the 

 genus Lams proper breeding on the islands. Taczauowski (Bull. Soc. 

 Zool. France, 1882, p. 397), however, asserts that he has received birds 

 and eggs of '■'•Lariis horealis^^ from Bering Island, a statement not more 

 to be relied upon than that of the same author when he gives Somateria 

 moUissima (!) as breeding on the same island. As he does not mention 

 L. glauceseens which is so very common, the inference is justifiable that 

 he has mistaken this species for boreaUs^ and consequently I put the 

 latter name in the synonomy with a query. It may be, however, that 

 some mistake in the labeling has taken place. 



The Tschaika is a very common bird and rather numerous, although 

 less so in winter than during the summer. To the hunting ornithologist 

 they are a perfect nuisance, following him with their penetrating i-a, 

 i-a, i-a — gagagagaga, the latter sounds in rapid succession, warning all 

 the feathered tribes of the«approaching enemy. 



During and after the sealing season they feed chiefly upon the car- 

 casses of the slain seals, especially on Copper Island, where a constant 

 fight goes on between the tschaika, the raven, and the blue fox. In 

 the fall, when only the skeletons are left, the gulls still visit the killing- 

 grounds, which, at that period, are swarming with the big white larvae 

 of the flesh-fly.' 



The favorite breeding places on Bering Island are not so numerous 

 as on Copper Island, where these birds breed everywhere all around the 

 shore. On the former island colonies are especially numerous on 

 Toporkof and Arij Islets, at Zapadnij Mys, some inacessible rocks be- 

 tween the northern seal rookery and Saranna, at Tonkij Mys, Staraja 

 Gavan, «Scc. 



Eggs were found in 1883 on Arij Kamen as early as May 16 (U. S. 



