THE AUK: 



A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF 



ORNITHOLOGY. 

 vol. iv. October, 1887. No. 4. 



THE PRESENT CONDITION OF SOME OF THE 



BIRD ROOKERIES OF THE GULF COAST 



OF FLORIDA.* 



BY W. E. D. SCOTT. 



Third Paper. 



Friday, May 21. To-day all the skins that had been collected 

 were laid out to air and dry in the deserted houses of the fish 

 ranch. These ranches, which are used only during a few months 

 in the fall, are frequent on the islands and keys along this part 

 of the Gulf Coast. Sometimes there is but a single building, 

 and again the number of houses, if they may be called houses, 

 amounts to a dozen or even twenty. They are all built of poles 

 and beams, and the entire structure, walls as well as roof, is 

 thatched with palmetto leaves. They afford very good shelter 

 and are picturesque to a degree. 



The point where we were stopping is known as the Champion 

 Ranch, from the principal schooner which makes this a head- 

 quarters during the fishing season. 



Shore birds of various kinds, several species of Terns, Laugh- 

 ing Gulls, and White and Brown Pelicans were common at Big 

 Gasparilla Pass, a mile north of the ranch where we had an- 

 chored. The American Oyster-catcher (Hccmatopus palliatus) 

 was one of the conspicuous species along the beaches and was 



* Concluded from page 22 



