726 



THE WESTERN GULL. 



wings (■/.. (/lauciscciis I. and thai tin-}- mTUpy nianil 'lie sonUiirn nicnibcrs of 

 tlie (Jlympiades dniini;- the nesting season. 



Willi mgiiln- J<ock, (iff Cape Ehzaheth, is tlie northernmcst colony of 

 nnmixed occiilciitalis on the W'ashingloii Cnast: Ijut scattered pairs occur, 

 along with Glaucous-wings, as far up as Carroll Islet. Upon Carroll, and 

 also u]5on W'ishaloolth, a constant percentage "i Westerns may Ix' found 

 among tlie large numbers of Glaucous-wings, wiili whom ihey appear to 

 mtergrade, or hybridize. Certain it is, at least, that from a \antage point of 

 observation, as upon the comb of \\'ishali>olth, 175 feet above tide, one may 

 see unmistakable W'esterns, with black wing-tips, passing and repassing 

 below. Between such clear"-cut e.\amj)les and Glaucous-wings, evei"\- grada- 



Taken at Port WiUanns. 



fkoto by the Aiitlwr. 



RIDING AT ANCHOR. 



tion appears tu exist, altho tyi)ical tihutccscciis nutnumbei's all others ten 

 to one. 



.\esting is undertaken in May, and by the 20th nf that nKintli, ur by June 

 lOth at the latest, the complement of three eggs is laitl. Nests are composed 

 almost exclusivelv of dried grasses plucked by the birds, roots and all: and 

 these become quite substantial structures if the grass is convenient. Ledges, 

 crannies, grass\- hillsides, and the ex])i;ised summits of the rocks, are alike 

 utilized for nesting sites; while occasionally a bird ventures down so close to 

 the tide line as to lose her eggs in time of .storm. Chicks are brought off by 

 the third week in June, or by the first of July, according to season, if 

 unmolested. If the first set is removed, however, the birds will prepare a 

 second, consisting almost invariably of two eggs, and these are deposited 

 as likelv ?s not in the same nest as the frmner set. Deposition occurs at 

 intervals of two (ir three da\'s. 



