360 THE FUR SEALS OF THE FRIBILOF ISLANDS. 



THE ORNITHOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS. 



I have had little opportunity for looking up ancient references to the birds. They 

 are but meager and fragmentaiy. Coinde in ISOO made a list of but nine species tliat 

 were collected by an officer of the Kussian navy, Mr. Warneck, in 1852. The jealous 

 care exercised by the liussians for the preservation of the seals prevented any out- 

 siders from studying the avifauna, so that it was not until the islands passed under 

 the control of this Government, and Mr. Elliott made his investigations, that any great 

 efibrt was made to study the bird life. Dr. AV. IT. Dall had indeed in 1SG8 spent a 

 short time at the islands and, together with the officers of his surveying vessel, had 

 collected some specimens, one of whicii was described as new by Prof. S. F. Baird, 

 but the first systematic investigation was made by Mr. Henry W. Elliott. The result 

 of this gentleman's work was a list of 40 species, based on coi)ious notes and numerous 

 specimens which were named and elaborated by Br. Elliott (Joues in Mr. Elliott's 

 report for 1873, and which was reprinted in 1875. Mr. Elliott made another more 

 extensive elaboration in his monograph of the seal islaiuls in 1882. Besides the 

 above, various other Government exi^editions which have visited the waters of Bering 

 Sea for different reasons during the past sixteen years liave generally touched at the 

 seal islands and given several naturalists opportunities for collecting and noting the 

 bird life. Thus, Mr. L. M. Turner in 1878, Dr. T. li. Bean in 1880, Mr. E. W. Nelson 

 in 1881, Lieut. J. E. Lutz in 1884, Mr. C. H. Townsend in 1885 to 18!»6, myself in 1890, 

 Messrs. V. W. True and D. W. Prentiss, Jr., in 1895, Mr. F. A. Lucas in 189G-97 have 

 spent from a day or two to several months on the islands. The results I have biought 

 together in the following list. Besides, several employees of the sealing companies 

 and several Treasury agents have collected and preserved some specimens, though 

 few of them have been noted in publications or are available for study. The siiecimens 

 collected by the naturalists of the various (Jovernment expeditions wore deposited in 

 the collection of the National Museum, of which they are now a j^art. The following 

 list is based on them; but of many of the species abetter series would have been 

 more a(;ce])table. Of many but a single specimen is available, while of many more 

 only the observations of the collectors have been the means of incorporating the 

 species in the list. Mr. Elliott translated for his 1873 report the following bird note 

 from Bishop Veniaminof's work, Zai)ieska ob Octrovah Oonahlashkenskaho Otdayla, 

 1840: 



Birds: The gnillcmots (or arries); gulls; puffins; crested, horned, and wliite-l>reaste<l anks; snow 

 finches; geese (two kinds); a few kinds of Trhif/a; sea ducks, hlack and gray. Most of these hirds 

 come here to lay, and with ihem jiif/ers, hawks, owls, .and " chikecs" (big Lams glauctis), and the 

 albatross is frequently to be seen around the beaches. 



Mr. l^lliott has enumerated 41 s])ecies in his various lists, 3 were added by Mr. 

 Townsend in 1885, 3 others were collected by Messrs. True and Prentiss in 1895, Mr. 

 Lucas added another in 1897, and 1 am responsible for 21 others, thus bringing the 

 total to 09. 



EXAMINATION OF STOMACHS. 



I preserved a number of stomachs of many of the species, which were turned over 

 to the Division of Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture. Dr. ('. H. 

 Merriam, the chief of that division, has kindly i)ermitted Mr. Sylvester D. .ludd, one 



