88 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



MINNESOTA ATTEMPTS TO REAR 

 PHEASANTS. 



The Minnesota Game and Fish Depart- 

 ment reports that progress is being made 

 in the propagation of pheasants at the 

 Big Island Game Farm, recently estab- 

 lished. ADout 1,200 eggs were secured 

 from the thirty-six ring-necked pheasant 



hens, and eggs were also secured from 

 prairie chickens and quail. As has been 

 the rule elsewhere, a considerable toll 

 was taken by crows and owls, and poach- 

 ers and trespassers caused some injury 

 to nesting birds. All of the young birds 

 reared will be available for distribution 

 in game refuges only. 



LIFE HISTORY NOTES. 



MORE BANDED DUCKS TAKEN IN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



During the 191G open season, as in 

 years past, several ducks originally 

 banded in Utah have been taken in Cali- 

 fornia. Mr. Chris Krempel killed a 

 banded green-winged teal at the Green- 

 wing Gun Club in Orange County during 

 December, 1916. A report from the 

 United States Biological Survey stated 

 that the bird had been released at Bear 

 River, Utah. On December 16, A. J. 

 Buckley killed a green-winged teal at 

 Los Banos, Merced County, bearing a tag 

 numbered 3S89. This bird was banded at 

 Bear River, Utah, September 11, 1916. 

 Another duck, banded at the same place 

 on October 3, was killed by Henry Schu- 

 belhut at Brito, Merced County. S. G. 

 Davis killed another teal bearing the 

 number 4138 at the same place during 

 January. — H. C. Bryant. 



THE WOLF-EEL TAKEN IN SAN 

 FRANCISCO BAY. 



A fine example of the curious and in- 

 teresting fish, the wolf-eel, was taken in 

 San Francisco Bay, off Angel Island, 

 February 13, by John Peetz and Bert 

 Lake. The wolf-eel is a long, slender 

 fish, bearing a superficial resemblance to 

 an eel, but in reality not at all related 

 to the eel. Its head is strong, its mouth 

 filled with very strong conical canine 

 teeth, the roof of the mouth being filled 

 with rows of coarse molai's. The head is 

 only about one-eleventh of the total length 

 of the fish. The dorsal and anal fins are 

 very long, each of about 250 rays. The 

 fish reaches a length of five to eight feet, 

 and was one of the first, if not the first, 

 species to be described from San Fran- 

 cisco Bay. 



The first naturalist to study the fishes 

 of this region was Dr. William O. Ayres, 

 a charter member of the California Acad- 

 emy of Sciences. In 1855 Dr. Ayres 



obtained a specimen of this fish, which 

 he described in the first volume of the 

 Proceedings of the Academy. The fish 

 was not only a new species, but it i-epre- 

 sented a new genus as well (Anamc/t- 

 thijs ocellatiis) . 



The wolf-eel feeds chiefly on sea- 

 urchins, sand dollars and the like. Al- 

 though not often used as food, probably 

 on account of its rarity, as well as its 

 repulsive appearance, its flesh would no 

 doubt prove nutritious and palatable if 

 served in attractive form. — Barton W. 



EVERMANN. 



SEA OTTERS SEEN NEAR MONTEREY. 



Two sea otters were seen basking in 

 the sun in the kelp beds off Del Monte 

 between Seaside and Del Monte wharf 

 on October 22, 1916. They were appar- 

 ently an old and young one, and the 

 theory is that the old one came back to 

 look for one of her young which was 

 caught in a sea bass net last year. — P. H. 

 Oyer. 



WILD SWANS ABUNDANT. 



Apparently there was a great increase 

 in the numbers of wild swans {Olor col- 

 nmhiaiitis) visiting this state this past 

 winter, 1916-17. All of the gun clubs in 

 the Suisun district report the presence 

 of swans on the duck ponds. One of the 

 members of the Cygnus Club stated : 



"Before daylight the air was very still 

 and cold. The musical trumpeting of the 

 swans could be plainly heard. As the 

 members of the various clubs wended 

 their way to the blinds for the morning 

 shooting these great birds rose from the 

 ponds where they had been resting and 

 feeding, and circled the mai'sh, filling 

 the air with their beautiful notes. The 

 wild swan's note is one of the most 

 plaintive and musical of all known birds." 



I was on the marsh the same morning 

 and should judge there were several hun- 

 dred birds in small flocks circling in the 

 air. — M. Hall McAllister. 



