44 
MARINE MAMMALS OF THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST. 
In the Bay of Monterey, Upper California, the best season for Humpbacks is 
in the months of October and November ; but some whales arc taken during the 
period from April to December, including a part of both of those months. The 
great body of these whales, however, are observed working their way northward 
until September, when they begin to return southward ; and the bay being open 
to the north, many of the returning band follow along its shores or visit its south- 
ern extremity, in search of food, which consists principally of small fish and the 
lower orders of crustaceans. When the animals are feeding, the whalers have a 
very favorable opportunity for their pursuit and capture. The observations of the 
whaling parties, which have been established at this bay for over seventeen years, 
furnish reliable data in reference to the periodical movements of whales along the 
Pacific Coast. Of the Humpbacks, individuals of every variety, size, and age have 
been taken, including one of the most gigantic specimens of the genus. This ani- 
mal, which yielded one hundred and forty -five barrels of oil, was taken in 1858, 
when the usual school of large megapteras was making its annual passage south- 
ward. One of the largest of these whales having an unusual mark — a white spot 
on the hump — was recognized for several years in succession in its periodical mi- 
with under side of pectoral and caudal fins of a 
dark ash-color. 4th. Body black above, with 
gray mottling beneath. In all these varieties, 
both the caudal and pectoral fins differ in shape 
and size ; the latter in some individuals being 
exceedingly long, narrow, and pointed, as repre- 
sented in figure 1 of plate vii; while others are 
comparatively short and broad, as shown in the 
outline (page 47), which also shows the parasites, 
commonly called barnacles, adhering to the 
throat, pectorals, and caudal fin. There are 
still others whose pectorals are of intermediate 
proportions, but terminate abruptly, as seen on 
page 48, which also represents the scalloped 
flukes present in some individuals. (In this fig- 
ure, the mark "A" shows the outlines of spira- 
cles, which form nearly a right argle). Again, in 
other examples, the caudal fin is narrow, point- 
ed, and lunate ; in others, still, it is broad, and 
nearly straight on the posterior edge. All these 
varieties feed and associate together on the same 
ground, and in every particular their habits are 
the same, so far as we have been able to ascer- 
tain from careful observation ; all, likewise, are 
infested by the same j:>arasites. As to the dorsal 
protuberance called the hump, it is, as has been 
previously stated, of no regular shape or size, 
but is nearly of a uniform height ; the posterior 
edge is sometimes tipped with white. As to the 
tubercles on the head and lij)s, they were pres- 
ent on all we have examined, twenty or more 
specimens ; those about the head are always 
well - developed, while those upon the lips, in 
many individuals, are scarcely perceptible. In 
some instances, however, they equal or exceed 
those which crown the skull. There is no reg- 
ularity in the number of gular folds, which, as 
far as observed, vary in number from eighteen 
to twenty -six. In some cases they run parallel 
to each other ; but usually there are several that 
either cross or terminate near the pectorals. 
The animals are all described as being black 
above ; but in the examples which have been 
examined, there was not one, when closely scru- 
tinized, which did not reveal some slight marks 
of white. 
