204 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



These hardy little gulls, graceful and swift in flight, often wheel 

 and tower high in the air. The desultory appearance of their flights 

 made it appear as if they were not bent upon long migratory course. 

 They are likewise the first gulls to fly through Anaktuvuk in the same 

 manner early in May. There they settle the arctic interior more 

 densely than do glaucous gulls, but they are not common along the 

 coast. The desultory nature of the flights of mew gulls through Old 

 Crow and the large number which remain in Porcupine Valley make 

 it difficult to speculate upon their eventual destination. But the great 

 numbers which moved up the Porcupine suggest that mew gulls from 

 those flights overflow Porcupine Valley and contribute significantly 

 to the nesting population in the Mackenzie Delta. 



These gulls winter on the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska 

 southward. Since they arrive in migratory flights from the west it 

 can be suspected that they come from the Yukon Valley but we do not 

 know by what course they leave the Gulf of Alaska and traverse the 

 mountains. Swarth (1936) reported their arrival at Atlin, B. C, on 

 May 7, 1932, May 3, 1933, and April 22, 1934. These dates are early 

 enough to make the vicinity of Atlin a possible area for crossing the 

 mountains to reach the Yukon system. 



The Indian name for these gulls is Vyou. 



Larus Philadelphia (Ord) 



Four Bonaparte's gulls were seen May 16 with 30 mew gulls. An- 

 other group was later seen with a flock of mew gulls. They were 

 known and named Ohit tryo by Joe Kay and other Indians, and are 

 evidently common enough in summer in the upper Porcupine Valley 

 to be familiar, but in small numbers compared with mew gulls. Their 

 occurrence in company with the mew gulls suggests that they also 

 came from the west along the Porcupine River and had wintered on 

 the Pacific coast south of Washington. 



Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan 



Only a few arctic terns were seen near Old Crow. Mary Lobban 

 first reported them on June 5 about ten miles down river from Old 

 Crow. Robert Bruce saw one near the village on June 14. On 

 that same day it was remarked that no tern was seen in traveling- 

 40 miles up the Porcupine River and back. To the Indians terns 

 are familiar and not well liked because of their persistent diving 

 at and even striking intruders into their nesting areas on Crow 

 Flats. These terns are probably from the migratory population 

 which travels the Pacific to their wintering place on antarctic waters. 

 (Cooke, 1911). Probably they migrate to Yukon from the west. 



The Indian name is Khya notetuthga. 



