424 Bird -Lore 



body. The first feathers to appear are those of the wings and tail, closely 

 followed by those on the back of the head and throat. Then comes the beauti- 

 ful gray covering of the back and upper tail coverts, and shortly afterward 

 the mature feathers replace the down on the chest. The last down to disappear 

 is that on the lower abdomen. When this leaves, the young is very similar 

 in plumage to the adult bird. The tail, however, is not so deeply forked, 

 the white patch on the throat is streaked with gray, the forehead is dark 

 gray instead of brownish, and the general coloration of the back, wings and 

 tail is darker than in the adult. Estimated number of pairs breeding on the 

 island, 2,000. 

 Oceanodroma heali. Beal Petrel.* 



As the white-rumped Petrel on St. Lazaria Island appears to be uniformly 

 smaller than 0. leucorhoa of the Atlantic coast, thus bearing out the characters 

 ascribed by Emerson to the form beali, I have referred it to this form. It is 

 by far the most abundant breeding bird on the reservation. Everywhere on 

 the island where the soil is deep enough are found the burrows of this bird. 

 The burrows and nests are similar to those of the last species but are found in 

 thousands on the flat top of the island among the timber and brush, where 

 furcata does not seem to occur. Also they evidently nest considerably later 

 than furcata, as no very large young were seen and a few fresh eggs were noted 

 as late as August 15. The down on the back of the newly hatched young is 

 dark brown, on the breast and abdomen it is considerably lighter. The throat, 

 lores and thighs are nearly naked. The young of both this and the last species 

 become very fat when a few days old. Upon being picked up they invariably 

 vomit a considerable quantity of musky oil, a characteristic of the Petrels, 

 both young and old. One of the adult birds may be found on the nest during 

 the entire period of incubation and until the young bird is three or four days 

 old.' After this time the young is alone during the entire day, both old birds 

 going to sea at daylight and returning at dusk. Estimated number of pairs 

 breeding on the island, 20,000. 

 Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus. Pelagic Cormorant. 



Although the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List refers the Cor- 

 morant occurring in the Sitkan district to P. pelagicus robustus Ridgway, 

 specimens taken by me do not seem to substantiate the validity of this form. 

 Therefore I refer the Cormorant breeding on St. Lazaria to P. pelagicus pela- 

 gicus. 



The Pelagic Cormorant nests rather plentifully on ledges of clifTs all around 

 the island as well as in some of the caves. The nests are built of sticks and 

 seaweed, lined with grass and sea-moss. Nearly full-grown young were noted 

 July 31, and eggs were seen in some nests late in August. Owing to the depre- 

 dations of the Crows, very few of these birds succeed in raising an entire brood, 

 and I believe there are many who are unable to raise a single young. When 



♦Emerson, Condor VIII, 1906, p. S4. 



