34 University of California Publications in Zoology. l^°^- '^ 



appear to be at all common. More were seen in the vicinity 

 of Shakan and Calder Bay, Prince of Wales Island, May 10 

 to 14, than at any other one point. The birds were in loose, 

 widely scattered flocks, though some pairs were observed. Many 

 appeared to be still in the winter, or gray plumage.. Pigeon 

 guillemots were seen at most of the points we visited, but usually 

 there were not more than a pair or two in a bay or harbor. 



Uria troille californica (Bryant). California Miirre. 



The only place where any murres were seen was along the 

 west coast, and about the north end, of Ball Island, ilay 30 to 

 June 6. Here they were fairly abundant, feeding in the 

 turbulent waters near the shore, and doubtless breeding on the 

 rugged rocks and ledges that line this inhospitable coast. Like 

 the ancient murrelet this species appears to shun the more 

 sheltered straits and channels between the islands, and except 

 for a few individuals seen at the north end of Ball Island, just 

 inside Meare's Passage, none were noted in any of the inner 

 channels. 



Larus glaucescens Naumann. Glaucous-winged Gull. 



This, the most common gull of the region, was generally 

 distributed and seen in numbers practically everywhere. Large 

 flocks followed in the wake of the steamer on the way north 

 from Seattle in the spring, and again going south from Juneau 

 in the fall. Buring the sum|Qer there was hardly a day when 

 individuals were not seen, and in some localities they were 

 gathered in enormous flocks, frequently in company with other 

 species of gulls. Sometimes, out in the broad channels, a flock 

 would be encountered feeding on schools of herring or other 

 small fish; or at times, as at Bradfield Canal, Zarembo Island, 

 and Thomas Bay, flocks of hundreds would be gathered on the 

 mud flats at low tide. 



Fewer were seen from about the middle of May to the end 

 of July — presumably the breeding season — than at any other 

 time, and it seems probable that the principal nesting grounds 

 of the species lie somewhere outside the region we traversed. No 

 breeding colony was discovered, and apparently many of the 



