[82.] BIRDS OF OREGON 



In December 1934 and January 1935, Slender-billed Shearwaters and 

 Pacific Kittiwakes seem to have been on the coast in considerable num- 

 bers, as dead birds were found repeatedly by Braly and the authors along 

 the entire northern coast. Many of those found were not saved because 

 of the condition in which they were discovered, but the evidence points 

 to an unusual abundance of the two species. The original type of this 

 bird was described from Townsend's collection as near the mouth of the 

 Columbia River. In view of our present knowledge, it is possible that 

 the specimen was obtained in that vicinity, although some of Townsend's 

 other records of birds taken off the mouth of the Columbia River have 

 never been confirmed. 



Sooty Shearwater: 



Puffinus griseus (Gmelin) 



DESCRIPTION.- "Entire plumage sooty gray except for white under wing coverts, 

 which are mottled with gray at tips; bill and feet dusky or black. Wing: 11.15- 

 ii.oo, bill 1.55-1.70, depth of bill at base . 45-^5, tarsus 2..I2.-2..35." (Bailey) Eggs: 

 i, white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds on many islands near New Zealand and also Cape 

 Horn and ranges north to Aleutians and Greenland. In Oregon: Appears on coast 

 first in May and is present in great numbers during August and September, dwindling 

 after October i to a few individuals that may remain as late as November. 



THE GRACEFUL SOOTY SHEARWATER, known to the fishermen on the coast 

 as the "Whale Bird," is the most abundant seafowl present. It was first 

 definitely recorded from Oregon by Loomis (1901), who found it off the 

 mouth of the Rogue River. Woodcock (1902.) listed it for Yaquina Bay. 

 These are the only written records of its occurrence in the State prior to 

 our own work. Breeding on the islands in the vicinity of New Zealand 

 and also near Cape Horn, these shearwaters swarm northward across the 

 equator in incredible numbers on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

 We have found them to be regular summer visitors to the Oregon coast 

 from May until November (our earliest date, May 5 ; our latest, November 

 2.7), sometimes prevalent in unbelievable numbers. They can be found in 

 some numbers in every month of this period, but most of them pass to 

 the northward, possibly far offshore, and swing south again in August 

 and September, the months when they appear off the Oregon coast in 

 numbers not computable, the great flocks sometimes taking hours to pass 

 a given point. They fly either in a steady column, or, after stopping to 

 feed off the surface of the water, the birds in the rear rise and fly over 

 those ahead. 



They are expert fishermen and often follow great schools of anchovies 

 close inshore, congregating in great screaming, struggling, fighting masses 

 as the fishes come close to the surface. When full fed they frequently rest 



