80 U, S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



The Nunamiut say that nests are occasionally found in the Valley 

 and I do not hesitate to designate it a regular but uncommon nesting 

 bird. In spring many more are seen than in summer. I have not 

 seen them along the upper Koyukuk and Alatna Eivers, where the 

 herring gull seems to be the regular large nesting gull of the interior. 

 Further west, on the upper Kobuk and Ahlasuruk Eivers, about 125 

 miles from the coast, the glaucous gull is very common, while the 

 herring gull is rare. 



Larus argentatus smithsonianus Coues 



2 males July 12, 1949, July weight 1189, 1293 g. 



27, 1952 



The first specimen was obtained by Robert Eausch. One was re- 

 ported seen on July 2, 1951, by Simon Paneak and William Irving 

 on the Killik Eiver within the mountains, but they are only rarely 

 seen in the mountains. I have seen herring gulls with their young 

 of the year along the Koyukuk and Alatna Eivers within 100 miles of 

 Anaktuvuk. An adult male collected on the Alatna was identified as 

 smithsonianus. 



These and the few glaucous gulls of arctic interior Alaska are wary 

 and difficult to shoot or to approach within range for distinct recogni- 

 tion. Wliile this conduct embarrasses the naturalist, it is a blessing 

 for the resident people that gulls do not rob and foul the meat caches 

 as they do the environs of every boat and village along populated 

 coasts. It appears that large aggregations of gulls and people induce 

 reactions in behavior quite different from that which is natural to 

 individuals or small groups. 



The Nunamiut know the large gull with black wing tips which occa- 

 sionally appears in the mountains but they give it no explicit name. 

 It is probably an occasional but not infrequent visitor from the for- 

 ested valleys of the central interior. There it seems to be common 

 and the glaucous gull rare. 



Larus canus brachyrhynchus Richardson 



3 males May 17-20, 1949 weight (5), 394-452, 



average 428 g. 



1 female June 20 weight 408 g. 



1 female, in one June 20, 1949 weight 300 g. 



year plumage, 



badly worn 

 1 female, of this Aug. 7, 1950 weight 422 g. 



year 



Mew gulls were first recorded on May 13, 1949, May 16, 1950, May 

 3, 1951, May 29, 1952, and May 18, 1963. Small flocks of at most 15 

 are sometimes seen during the last two weeks of May. Thereafter, 

 during the summer, a few pairs are about and one or two may be seen 



