54 NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



The first record of its capture was of the specimeu taken by Dr. Bean on October 1, the same 

 season when a young bird was taken at the head of Chernoffsky Bay, Unalaska. The birds were 

 abundant there at the time, feeding at the mouth of a small river flowing into the bay. 



Further work in this region may show that this specimen is of regular and common occurrence 

 at many points on the Alaskan coast, although it was not noted by myself nor by any previous 

 explorer there. 



Stejneger found it an abundant breeding species near Petropaulski, Kamchatka, and an oc- 

 casional visitor to the Commander Islands. From these records it appears that this is a widely 

 distributed species in Bering Sea and the adjacent parts of the Pacific. 



It is probable that the gull taken by Captain Moore, of the British ship Plover, in 1849, at 

 Choris Peninsula, and identified by Mr. Harting as the Larus occidentaUs, is the L. affinis, though 

 it may possibly be the present species. Mr. H. remarks that it is of the same size as argeniatus, 

 but with shorter wings and a darker mantle. 



Larus argentatus smithsonianus Coues. American Herring Gull (Esk. Nago- 

 yukU-lil-). 



Like the preceding, the Herring Gull has but a limited known distribution in tlie Territory. 

 Mr. Dall found it abundant on the Upper Yukon, replacing there the lexicopterus of the lower 

 river. The same author records its arrival before the ducks, by May 2, and found it breeding on 

 islands in the river, laying its eggs in small depressions on the bare ground. Hartlaub records it 

 as not numerous at Schutlichroii May 30. 



30. Larus cachinnans, Pall. Pallas's Gull (Esk. Na-^-yulcK-ltli). 



This gull occurs along the Siberian coast of Bering Sea, but just how commonly is not known. 

 It also reaches the Alaskan shore from Kotzebue Sound to the Yukon mouth, at least during the 

 summer, and probably breeds on our shore. They were somewhat common in Plover Bay, East 

 Siberia, the summer of 1881, where they are also recorded by Dall under the name of L. argentatus, 

 and were also seen in Bering Straits. 



During my residence at Saint Michaels I saw a number of gulls at long intervals, which were 

 probably of this species, but I was not able to make a positive identification. October IG, 1880, a 

 native secured and brought me a fine specimen of this gull. The L. borealis, recorded by Dall 

 as not uncommon at Saint Michaels and as plenty at Plover Bay, is the present species. 



Larus brachybhynchus Rich. Short-billed Gull. 



This elegant gull is an abundant species over a large part of the Alaskan mainland. During 

 the Telegraph Expedition it was secured at Sitka and Kadiak, and was recorded by Dall as abundant 

 along the Yukon from Fort Yukon to the sea. This author obtained the eggs in large numbers at 

 the Yukon mouth, and noticed there a variety of the bird with a bright yellow bill. He secured 

 the young in downy plumage near Fort Y'ukon. 



Although perhaps occurring as a straggler on the Eastern Aleutian Islands during the migra- 

 tions, it is nearly or quite unknown on the other islands of Bering Sea, except those closely 

 bordei'ing the shore line. 



It is a marsh-loving species, and is rarely found near the bold promontories and capes which 

 delight the Kitti wakes. Frequenting all the flat marshy country of the coast and interior, they 

 are found nesting from the peninsula of Aliaska north to the head of Kotzebue Sound, and from 

 this sea-coast region they breed interiorly over Alaska and Northern British America. 



At the Yukon mouth and Saint Michaels May 11 is the earliest date they were noted in 

 spring. As a rule they are rare until the 20th or 25th of May, about which time they find the 

 ponds and sluggish streams open in the coast country. They undoubtedly reach interior localities 

 earlier in the season, as the spring is considerably earlier there. 



In the breeding season specimens taken at the Yukon mouth in May had the iris light hazel, 

 bill and feet gamboge yellow, with a shade of green on the legs and toes, the corner of gape red, 

 with a narrow red membranous ring around the eye. 



