172 



THE OOLOGIST 



alone. The presence of many a school 

 of these leviathans has been betrayed 

 by their winged attendants. 



During a recent cruise to the Pribi- 

 lof Islands via south-eastern Alaska 

 two such flocks of "whale birds" were 

 observed in company with schools ol 

 whales and were noteworthy in that 

 each flock consisted, in as far as I could 

 see, of but one species of bird. The 

 first of these, encountered about 25 

 miles of Cape Scott, B. C, on May 16, 

 was the largest flock of whale follow- 

 ing birds that 1 have ever seen, and 

 was made up entirely of Dark-bodied 

 Sharwaters. The second flock, slight- 

 ly smaller than the first, and seen off 

 Yakatat, Alaska, on May 25th, were, if 

 my identification be correct. Leaches 

 Petrel. Both of these flocks contained 

 myriads of birds. They were visible 

 at a distance of three or four miles 

 and appeared as a dark cloud over the 

 surface of the sea. As the vessel ap- 

 proached nearer it was seen that not 

 only was the air filled with them but 

 the water was supporting a still great- 

 er number. Their cries as they flit- 

 tered or swam about were deafening. 

 In both instances schools of about a 

 dozen whales were being followed and 

 as they rose to the surface at inter- 

 vals to spout, the birds would rush in 

 that direction with movements that 

 bordered on a frenzy and with inces- 

 sant screams. The fact that it seemed 

 to be the sole aim of the birds to keep 

 as closely as possible to the school 

 tended to indicate that the whales 

 were better able to locate the food sup- 

 ply. The cetaceans appeared to do all 

 the hunting; the birds simply trailed 

 behind to feed on what the former 

 had found. Just what type of marine 

 animal life serves to satisfy the tastes 

 of both whale and bird is unknown to 

 me, but it is undoubtedly tiny fish, 

 crustaceans, and the like. That the 

 excretory matter of the whale is also 



used by the birds is not improbable. 

 The attraction, whatever it be, must 

 remain very close to the surface of 

 the sea for it is readily picked up by 

 the latter either when flitting along 

 the water and when resting on its sur- 

 face. 



From my observations "whale birds" 

 of the petrel family are in attendance 

 on whale schools during the greater 

 part of the year. Around Unimak Pass 

 — a great whaling ground — they may 

 be seen from early spring to late in 

 October and it is not unlikely that 

 they follow the above as they seek the 

 south in the fall. The shearwaters, on 

 the other hand, are rarely found in 

 northern waters following whales but 

 further south they are found in their 

 company as often as the petrels. 



I. I. VanKammen. 



Military Oologing in Texas. 



I received my flrst copy of THE 

 OOLOGIST since I have been in the 

 field and certainly was overjoyed to 

 get it. Our company, which is Co. A, 

 4th Texas Inf., has been stationed in 

 the "Big Bend" district ever since the 

 Militia was called out. We are 118 

 miles from the nearest railroad and 

 get all of our supplies by motor trucks. 



Am not much of a writer but if some 

 of the subscribers would like to hear 

 from the lower Rio Rrande district 

 will make a try. The birds here are 

 entirely different from the ones I am 

 acquainted with in the Northern por- 

 tion of the state. The Nighthawks 

 are more like a Whip-poor-will than 

 our Nighthawks are in the northern 

 part of the state. The White-necked 

 Ravens take the place of the Crows. 

 The Ravens swarm all around our 

 camps to get scraps and rubbish fov 

 food supply is scarce here in the 

 desert and it makes birds of all kinds 

 tame. The Spanish dagger cactus 

 takes the place of the trees and they 



