HUMPBACK WHALE. 



309 



Humpbacks in New England Waters. 



The table brings out rather strikingly that so far as the evidence goes, the Humpback is 

 practically absent from our coast in winter. There are no records for January, February, or 

 March, and but one each for November and December. They begin to appear in April and 

 may be common during the summer, but after September or October again disappear. It is 

 noticeable that the larger schools of them are usually seen well off shore, and that those seen 

 nearer the mainland are usually solitary individuals. Captain H. L. Spinney writes me (1913) 

 that during his observations in the region about Cape Elizabeth, Maine, covering forty years 

 past, he used to see Finbacks and Humpbacks, particularly the former, at least from April to 

 November, but that July and August were the months when they were seen in greatest numbers. 

 This corroborates the table, and indicates that the Humpback is a spring and summer visitor 

 with us. 



