LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN" GULLS AND TERNS. 145 



share, indeed, when Petro dumps a rich load of restaurant waste, l)ut expected 

 to take a grumbling back seat when the supply of food is more limited. One 

 may see at a glance that they are not fitted for competition. Their bills are 

 not only shorter, but much more delicately proportioned than those of the other 

 gulls; while their gabbling, duck-like notes oppose a mild alto to the screams 

 and high trumpetlngs of their larger congeners. 



Gulls of this and allied species are quick to appreciate the advantages of 

 protected areas. Along the water front or near steamers, where shooting would 

 not l)e allowed, they become very bold. Short-bills, however, do not stand 

 about on palings, piles, and roofs, as do the glaucous-wings, but rest, instead, 

 almost exclusively on the water. Thus, if one attempts to bait the gulls with 

 an offering of bread laid on the wharf rail, the larger gulls will begin to line 

 the leighboring rails and posts, craning their necks hungrily or snatching ex- 

 posed fragments; but the short-bills will settle upon the water and draw near 

 to the piling below, content to catch such crumbs as fall from the high-set 

 table. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range. — North^vestern North America. East to Mackenzie 

 Valley. South to northern Saskatchewan and Alberta (Athabasca 

 Lake), northern British Columbia (Atlin Lake) and southern 

 Alaska (Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound). West to the Ber- 

 ing Sea coast of Alaska (Nushagak and Norton Sound) and St. Law- 

 rence Island. North to northern Alaska (Kowak River and Cape 

 Lisburne), Herschel and Baillie Islands, and northern Mackenzie 

 (Fort Anderson). 



Wi7iter range. — Pacific coast of the United States from the south- 

 ern end of Vancouver Island and the Puget Sound region southward 

 to southern California (San Diego). 



Spring migration. — Northward along the coast and eastward to the 

 interior. Early dates of arrival : British Columbia, Queen Char- 

 lotte Sound, April 6; Alaska, Admiralty Island, April 24, Mount 

 McKinley, May 10, St. Michael, May 11, and Kowak River, May 15 ; 

 Mackenzie, Fort Simpson, May 8, and Great Bear Lake, May 23. 



Fall migration. — The reverse of the spring. Early dates of arrival : 

 British Columbia, Chillawack, August 26; Oregon, Scio, September 

 21 ; California, Berkeley, October 9, Monterey, October 29, Ventura, 

 November 26 and San Diego, December 11. Late dates of departure: 

 Alaska, Icy Cape, July 30, Cape Nome, August 28, Camden Bay, 

 September 8, St. Michael, September 23, Unalaska, October 1, and 

 Sitka region, October 7; Mackenzie, Lake Hardisty, August 25. 



Casual records. — Has been taken in Quebec City (Dionne), in Wy- 

 oming (Wind River Mountains, August 28, 1893), and in Kurile 

 Islands (February). 



Egg dates. — Athabasca, Mackenzie region : Nineteen records. May 

 28 to July 5 ; ten records, June 15 to 21. Alaska : Thirteen records. 

 May 30 to July 5 ; seven records, June 16 to 20. 



