CEUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 105 



RISSA TRIDACTYLA KOTZBUEI (Bp.) Coues. 



(14().) Pacific Kittiwake. 



About the .shores of Beriiiy: Sea everywliere that rocky cliffs or bold islands rise from the 

 water this elegiiiit (lull may be tbuud, usually occurring- in the greatest abnndance. During oixr 

 visit to a rocky islet in Escholtn Bay, Kotzebue Sound, on September 7, 188 1, the young were 

 seeii i)erching u|)on the ledges and jutting points of this precipitous island. Although the approach 

 to the nesting places was difficult, yet the young stood gazing stupidly at us as we drew near until, 

 though they were able to dy, several were knocked froui their perches with stones before they 

 would take wing, and one was caught in uiy hand without its showing the slightest alarm until 

 seized. Elliott found them breeding in greatest abundance at the fur-seal islands, and we found 

 them about the shores of Saint Lawrence Island tiie last of .June, 1881. On Herald Island they 

 were nesting in large numbers, and altliough seen in less abnndance about the shores of Wrangel 

 Island, yet they were common there. On May I, 1880, during the drift 'of the Jeaunette, they were 

 seen i>y Mr. Newcomb, the uaturalist of this vessel, and were (|uite common from that date on 

 during the remainder of the summer. At Bennett Island they were found more numerous than 

 elsewhere by the people from this vessel. It is a common bird over all parts of the Arctic, extend- 

 ing along both the Alaskan and Siberian shores from Bering Strait. During our cruising iu the 

 summer of 1881 I had repeated occasions to notice the graceful motions and powers of Hight 

 |)ossessed by this liandsome Gull. Its buoyancy during the worst gales we met was fully equal to 

 that ])ossessed by the llodger's Fulmar, with which it frequently as.sociated at these times. These 

 birds were continually gliding back and forth in graceful curves, now passing directly into the face 

 of the gale, then darting off to one side on a loug circuit, always moving steadily, with only an 

 occasional stroke of the wings for long periods if there was a strong wind. The closely-allied form, 

 the well-known Kittiwake of the North Atlantic and adjoining portion of the Arctic Ocean, is 

 found breeding upon Spitzbergen aiid Nova Zemlya, as well as upon the Preobraschrine Islands 

 on the North Siberian shore. It is more common in the very high northern latitudes thau the 

 Glaucous Gull, according to Nordenskiold, and occurs far out to sea, where it follows vessels for 

 days at a time, circling around the tops of the nuists, sometimes, a(icording to the walrus hunters 

 of the seas north of Buroi)e, pecking at the end of the pendant before a storm. This latter habit 

 was noticed by us in the Pacific Kittiwake as we approached Wrangel Island during our several 

 attempts to land there. One evening it was nearly calm and clear, but the appearance of the sky 

 indicated that foul weather was preparing to descend ui)on us, and as we worked in through the 

 ice, attemjiting to reach the shore, several young Kitti wakes came off towards us, and circling about 

 approiiched close to the pendant flying from the mast-head with their bills almost touching the 

 point of this streamer. They moved up and down, following the .sinuous movement of the pendant 

 in the most curious manner, apparently trying to satisfy themselves as to the cause ami api)earance 

 of this strange phenomenon. The common Kittiwake of the North Atlantic is said to make an 

 elaborate nest of moss, mud, and grass, wliich harbors innumerable insects, of which the naturalist 

 on board the Vega obtained twelve species from a single nest. The Bering Sea bird Cousliructs a 

 nest of moss and sea-weed, or other material in a like manner, but the parasites from this source 

 have not been examined. 



RISSA BREVIROSTRIS Brandt. 



(147.) Red-legged Kittiwake. 



The present hand.some species of gull is limited iu the region covered by tiiis paper to the 

 Aleutian Islands and to the fur-seal group. It nests in great abnudance about the latter islands, 

 where, according to Elliott, it comes by tens of thousands to breed. This author testifies to its 

 elegance of coloring and grace of movement; and its handsomely contrasted [)lumage and bright 

 red feet certainly render it one of the most attractive of its kind iu these northern waters. The 

 la.st of May, 1877, while I was at Ouualaska, the.se birds were quite numerous for two or three days, 

 when they all disappeared as suddenly as they had come, and passed north to their breeding 

 H. Ex. 106 14 



