must be true of tlie deep-water fishes 

 such as the cod, although "at times 

 fishes were seen at the surface of the 

 water under circumstances tliat 

 would permit capture by an eagle. 

 This was particularly true of the 

 Atka mackerel." The total amount 

 of fish taken by the bald eagle in the 

 Aleutians definitely is much less 

 than that eaten by this l)ird in 

 Southeastern Alaska. In fact, on 

 the basis of these data, our national 

 bird appears to have no significant 

 economic effect on the fishing indus- 

 try of the Aleutians, unless it be at 

 the extreme eastern end of the chain, 

 in the vicinity of False Pass. 



It is impossible to say whether 

 the fluctuation in the amounts taken 

 from month to month indicates a 

 variation in acceptance, supply, or 

 simply an inadequate sample of 

 stomachs. All three factors may 

 have entered the picture, but it 

 would appear that seasonal changes 

 in the diet of the bald eagle in Alas- 

 ka are governed, not by the supply 

 of fish, which is ample at all times, 

 but by the bird's feeding on other 

 birds, a subject discussed later. 



Sal/mon. — Salmon and a few 

 trout were present in one-third 

 (108) of the 325 stomachs in which 

 fish occurred and, in volume, they 

 comprised nearly IT percent of the 

 annual food. The bulk of this 

 food item was consumed in late 

 summer and early fall (table 2). 

 The humpback, or pink, salmon 

 {Oncorhynchus gorhimchci) was 

 most frequently identified (39 

 stomachs), while lesser numbers of 

 the sockeye {O. nerha)^ dog {0. 

 heta)^ and chinook salmon {O. 

 tshawytscha) ^ were found. In two 



instances the remains of Dolly 

 Varden trout {Salvelinus malma), 

 a persistent feeder on salmon eggs, 

 were detected. In 9 stomachs the 

 eggs of salmon were present, but in 

 at least 2 of these the whole mass 

 was considered carrion. 



It was the considered opinion of 

 the senior author and Hosea Sar- 

 ber, his companion in the collecting 

 of the Alaskan eagle stomachs, that 

 the salmon eaten by the bald eagle 

 was principally carrion, and that, 

 at least during the period when they 

 Avere collecting material in South- 

 eastern Alaska, probably much less 

 than 10 percent of the salmon eaten 

 were captured alive (fig. 8). 



As recorded by Imler in notes 

 taken July 11, 1941, on Anan Creek : 



Three eagles, each at a different place 

 were observed while feeding on salmon. 

 When later examined the fish were ob- 

 served to have been dead a day or two 

 since their gills were discolored and the 

 flesh was a milky gi'ay. An estimated 

 350,000 salmon were in the creek at the 

 time and, although spawning had not 

 started, many dead fish were observed 

 in the stream. 



And again in .Inly 21: the comment 

 was made that — 



on Pack Creek, on Admiralty Island, 

 eagles were observed feeding on two 

 salmon, both in a stale condition. One 

 was a dog salmon and the other probably 

 a humpback but the latter was so dis- 

 integrated that identification could not 

 be made with certainty. All the eagles 

 here seem to be feeding entirely on stale, 

 dead salmon. Two collected yesterday 

 gave off a disagreeable odor from the de- 

 cayed fish held in the gullet. 



Speaking of conditions before 

 1927, Ernest P. Walker, formerly 

 executive officer of the Alaska Game 

 Commission, had the following to 



27 



