LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 7 



Casual records. — Accidental inland in New York (Niagara River, 

 spring, 1886). 



Egg dates. — Iceland: Twenty-four records May 20 to June 23; 

 twelve records June 3 to 15. Greenland : One record June 21. 



CATHARACTA CHILENSIS (Bonaparte). 



CHILEAN SKUA. 



HABITS. 



The preceding species, Catharactu skua., has been reported, as a 

 straggler, on the coasts of California and Washington, where speci- 

 mens have been taken, as recorded below. 



These records have always seemed open to question as it seemed 

 unlikely that a bird of the Atlantic Ocean would stray so far away 

 from its normal habitat. 



There are at least two other species of skua, which are fairly com- 

 mon in certain parts of the South Pacific and South Indian Oceans, 

 which would be much more likely to wander to the coast of Cali- 

 fornia. Thinking that these records might refer to Catharacta 

 cMlensis or Catharacta lotmhergi, I opened correspondence regard- 

 ing them with Mr. Harry S. Swarth, which resulted in his sending 

 me one of the birds. After consultation with Mr. Robert Cushman 

 Murphy, who is familiar with these species in life, and after compar- 

 ing it with series of specimens of chilensis, lomihergi, and antarctica 

 in various museums in Cambridge, New York, and Washington, I 

 have decided to provisionally refer these birds to the above species, 

 Catharacta chileiisis, of which they probably represent an immature 

 plumage or a dark phase. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — Unknown. 



Range. — Most abundant on the coasts of Chile and Peru, but found 

 on both coasts of southern South America, from Rio Janeiro, on the 

 Atlantic side, to Callao, Peru, on the Pacific side. Wanders north- 

 ward, perhaps regularly, in the Pacific Ocean to Japan (Sagami 

 Sea, August 23, 1903), California (Monterey Bay, August 7, 1907, 

 and August 4 and September 21, 1910), Washington (off Gray's Har- 

 bor, June 28, 1917), and British Columbia (off Vancouver Island, 

 June 20, 1917). 



STERCORARIUS POMARINUS (Temminck). 



FOMABINE JAEGER. 



HABITS. 



To most of us this and the other jaegers are known only as sum- 

 mer and fall visitors on our coasts or on the fishing banks, where 

 they are constantly harassing the smaller gulls, the terns, and the 

 shearwaters, from whom they obtain by force a large part of their 

 food supply. The pomarine is the largest of the three, but by no 

 174785—21 2 



