112 CRUISE OF STEAMER COR WIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



FULMORUSGLACIALIS RODQERSI (Cass.) Coues. 



(105.) Rodger's Fulmar. 



Tliis is ail extrtiiiiely abiiiiilaut bird over all the ileei)-\Viiter portions of Bnriii>^Se;i, e.vteudiii;^ 

 into the Arctic Ocean to the v^icinity of tlie ice i)ack. It rarely visits tlie eastern shore of the sea, 

 however, from tlie inoutli of tiie Kiiskocinim nortli to the head of Norton Sound, tiie shallow and 

 muddy character of the water here apparently not beinj;^ suitable for the presence of food upon 

 which this bird exists. On the western shore of the sea in the vicinity of Plover Bay and Saint 

 Lawrence Island, thence north thronuh Herin!^- Strait, the bird was found in the s'rt'atest abnn<ian(!e 

 during the visit of tjie Corwin to that region. It was also -tibundant north beyond the Straits 

 along the Siberian shore. The shallow character of the water on the American coast north of the 

 Straits had the same effect in not presenting suitable foraging ground for thtjse wide-ranging 

 birds. 



Nordeuskiold tells us that the common Fulmar, which is the North Atlantic representative of 

 the bird under consideration at ])resent, is iriucli more (common on IJe;ir Island and Spitzbergcm 

 than it is upon Nova Zemlya. U breeds abundantly on Bear Island on some of the sloping clills 

 not difficult of access. One case is uieiitioned where on May 26, 1876, the eggs were seen deposited 

 directly upon the bare ice which covered the rocks at the time. In one place a bird was found 

 frozen fast by one leg as it sat upon the eggs, in August, 1590, as recorded by one of the old Dutch 

 expeditions which touched that coast. On the northern part of Nova Zemlya, Barents found .some 

 Fulmars nesting u|)on a piece of ice covered with a little earth. In both of these cases the 

 underpart of the egg during liatcliing could not be warmed aliove the freezing point. 



During the crui.se of the Corwin in Bering Sea and the Arctic, it was observed that ou some 

 days Rodger's Fulmars would be seen in large numbers ; and again in passing over the same 

 area not a single individual would be noticed. These birds breed on the precipitous islands of 

 Bering Sea, and I am inclined to think some uest upon Herald Island in the Arctic Ocean. 

 Although in our hasty visit to that island none were seen, yet the clitt's on the side opposite our 

 landing were eminently suitable for nesting i)laces such as these birds delight to clioo.se, and the 

 abundance of the bird up to within a comparatively short distance of this land, rendered the 

 supjtosition probable. Elliot found them breeding in greatest abundance upon the fur-seal islands, 

 where he secured their eggs. 



As we approached the harbor of Ouiialaska on Se|itember 22, 1S81, hundreds of those birds 

 were seen in the ordinary light-colored plumage, which were in company with about an equal 

 number of birds either of the same species or a closely related one of exactly the same size, 

 whiith were clad in n sooty-brown or blackish-brown plumage. Both birds were sitting in the 

 water in immense tlocks, covering acres, and as we steamed among them they appeared totally 

 unable to rise, the vessel almost running down numerous individuals as they flapited clumsily 

 along the surfice of the water trying to ri.se; the perfectly calm sea at the time apparently 

 rendered the birds almost helpless. 



Mr. Ridgway suggests that the dark-colored birds seen at that time were the Slender-billed 

 Fulmar, which may \n- the case, but if so it shows that these birds exist in large numbers in 

 the Nortii, although they have not been secured by the numerous naturalists who have visited 

 that region. A number of these dark birds were also seen north of Bering Strait on two 

 occasions, and should undoubtedly bo referred to the same si)ecies as those seen in the vicinity 

 ot Ounalaska, of whi<!h unfortunately jio specimens were secured. 



PRIOCELLA TENUIROSTRIS (And.) Ridgw. 

 (ItiO.) SLENDKR BILLED FlILMAR. 



There is but a single nniord of this bird's cai)ture ou the coast of Alaska. This was at 

 Kotzebue Sound, whence Mr. Dall secured a single skin during his exi)loratians in the Territory. 

 Several times during our cruising in the Arctic in the summer of 1881, a dark-colored Fulmar 

 was seen in company with the common species and of about the same size. This may perhaps be 



