EXPEDITION TO POINT BAUi;O\V. ALASKA. 123 



II' si duck be sliot NO that lie (all in (lie water or any not easily accessible place, an hour i.s 

 generally time enough i'or liini to lie reduced to a skeleton by the gulls. They are occasionally to 

 be seen inland, but usually crossing to sonic particnlai- point, sometimes lighting on the tundra. 



None breed anywhere near the station, though they are to be seen every day during the breed- 

 ing season. They are, rather abundant alter the sea opens, and continue so during August and 

 September. The young appear in August. Towards the cud of September, when numerous, 

 they have a regular track neur the station, Hying in over the beach and out over the ningnetii; 

 observatory. 



The natives say they find them plenty at the rivers inland when they are killing deer in tho 

 summer. 



They are a favorite bird with the natives, and iiisiny are shot, in the autumn as the.v lly up and 

 clown the shore. They are also occasionally caught with a baited line in the autnmn when there is 

 a light snow oil the beach. A little stick of hard-wood, about 4 inches long and sharpened at both 

 ends, has attached to its middle a strong line of deer sinew. The stick is carefully wrapped in 

 blubber or meat and exposed on the beach, while the short Hue is securely fastened to a stake driven 

 iuto the sand and carefully concealed in the snow. The gull picks up the tempting morsel and 

 swallows it and of course is caught by the stick, which turns sidewise across his gullet, and hi.-; 

 struggles to escape fix it more firmly. 



It was at first supposed that JM>-UX li'in-tipttrun occurred at Point Barrow, and several gulls 

 in the collection were ideutilicd as belonging to this species. Mr. Howard Sannders, however, the 

 great English authority on the Lurida; while in Washington last summer, carefully examined our 

 series, and is of the opinion that they are all referable to L. tjlau nix, with the exception of one. 

 small and very brown immature bird, which he was unable to identify. 



661a. LARUS KUMLIENI Brewstcr. 



LESSER ULAVCOX'S-VIXGED CULL (Nait-ya). 



The above-mentioned dark and small immature bird (Museum No. 9330G), which Mr. Saunders 

 was unable to identify, is considered by Mr. Ridgway as probably referable to lirewster's species 

 L. Itumlieni,* which has hitherto been obtained only from the eastern coast of America. It is 

 not at all unlikely that the species should straggle westward along the northern coast of the con- 

 tinent as Pelidna xulxti-i^/uiia and Actwlrowas fun<'i<-<iUis were found to do. 



Small and dark young gulls were observed quite often with the young liurgomasters in tho 

 autumn, but the, above was the only one obtained in a state lit for preservation. 



676. RHODOSTBTHIA ROSE A (MacGill) Bruch. 

 Ross's GTLL (Ki/'uma.rlu}. 



(Pl.ites I and II.) 



Our expedition succeeded in obtaining a large series of this rare and beautiful bird snore, in 

 fact, than there were before in all the museums of the world put together and a still larger series 

 might have been obtained hail the, weather and other conditions been favorable. 



riifortunatc.ly, we were able to add very little to the biography of the species, as tho birds 

 are simply autumn visitors at Point Barrow, making no shy, but passing rapidly to the northeast. 

 This, however, is the only locality where the birds have been observed in abundance even for a 

 short time, all previous records referring to the capture of sporadic individuals. 



In 1SS1, from September -'8 to October - ( , there were days when they were exceedingly abun- 

 dant in. small flocks gene! ally moving towards the northeast either flying over the sea or making 

 short excursions inshore. 



Not a single one was seen during the spring migrations or in the .summer, but two or three 

 Stragglers were noticed early in September a few out among the loose pack-ice and on Sep- 

 tember 21, 18Sf-', they were again abundant, apparently almost all young birds. 



*Scc Bull. Nuttall Ornithological Club, viii, No. 4, pp. 214-219, October, 



