THE BIRDS OF THE ISLANDS 163 



mass of fetid matter disagreeable in the extreme, made 

 up of sticks and weeds, generally placed a few feet 

 above the water in some protected region. These 

 birds have a curious habit of gathering in vast flocks 

 and drifting, at times going through peculiar manoeu- 

 vres, all the time uttering a singular noise. Various 

 gulls were in evidence, especially Heermann's gull, the 

 Western gull, and the California, seen on my various 

 trips from May until October. 



The gulls are extremely valuable. They are the 

 scavengers of the sea, eating everything, and always on 

 the alert. I sat on the side of the mountain one day 

 and sighted a vast mass of kelp coming down before 

 the wind a mile or two offshore. Presently an off- 

 shore gull sighted it; the moment that gull moved the 

 inshore gulls saw it, and from rocks and beaches gulls 

 flew, all converging to the drifting weed, upon which 

 they had soon alighted, ready to secure their share of 

 the small fry the yellowtails were trying to catch. 

 Out in the channel Xanthus's murrelet is seen, the 

 pigeon guillemot, the tufted puffin, and the Cassin's 

 auklet; while wheeling about in graceful flight was 

 the royal tern. The black-footed albatross is not 

 uncommon about San Clemente; and the pink-footed 

 shearwater, the black-vented shearwater, and the 

 dark-bodied shearwater {Puffinus) have been seen here 

 or near by. 



The brown peHcan, so common at other islands, was 

 rare here, though I saw several, but I doubt if they 

 nest on the island. This list of birds of San Clemente 

 is by no means to be considered complete, as I am 

 confident that many appear here in winter, especially 

 sea birds, that are regular visitants. The great blue 



