CALIFORNIA WATER BIRDS. 25 



the bay near the Chinese fishing village. Upon no other 

 occasion was the species met with. 



Sterna maxima. Royal Tern. — This was the only Tern 

 observed, and at intervals during my visit it was decidedly 

 common. As a rule they did not decoy as readily as the 

 Gulls. Any conspicuous bird thrown into the air, how- 

 ever, would usually cause them to fly around the boat 

 in large circles. If one was shot its companions showed 

 great anxiety and others were drawn to the scene, partic- 

 ularly if the bird was winged and made an outcry. 



Immature birds lacked much of the silvery gray on the 

 quills, the closed wing posterior to the greater coverts 

 having a dusky aspect. 



Diomedea albatrus. Short-tailed Albatross. — On 

 my arrival, just after a storm, a few adults and birds-of- 

 the-year were found close in shore on the bay. Dec. 20th 

 two of the former were noticed with a great congregation 

 of Gulls that were following a whale about a mile out 

 from the town of Monterey. During the last week of 

 December and in January only individuals in dark plumage 

 were observed. Whenever a storm was brewing they 

 were sure to appear near land. The greatest number 

 noted at one time was during thick weather on Dec. 29th, 

 a dozen or more being seen off Point Pinos in the course 

 of an hour. The old birds were extremely wary. Even 

 the young would rarely decoy, in this respect differing 

 widely from the Black-footed Albatrosses of August 

 ('No. 1,' p. 215). One day I found a young Short-tailed 

 Albatross with a company of Gulls on the water close to 

 a Chinese fishing boat — all waiting for the fishermen to 

 throw something overboard. As we drew near the large 

 bird became uneasy, being quick to discern that he had 

 been singled out from his lesser companions. Another 



