O 18 British Columbia. 1923 



Upon looking up records, I find barrovianus is not now accepted by the A.O.U. and is not 

 in their Check-list of 1910. Mr. Robert Ridgway, in his latest book on " Birds of North and 

 Middle America," records the bird he describes as L. barrovianus in " The Auk," July, 1SSG. as 

 a synonym of L. hypcrboreus. He also lists the bird taken by Allan Brooks at Comox under 

 L. liypcrboreus, and has dropped barrovianus. 



According to A. C. Bent, in the " Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns," page 

 60: "Many years ago Mr. Ridgway (1SS6) described the glaucous gulls of the coasts of Alaska 

 and adjacent waters as a new species under the name Larus barrovianus, the size and shape of 

 the bill being the chief distinguishing character. Twenty years later Doctor Dwight (1906) 

 argued that this species was untenable, and it was removed from the Check-list. Recently, 

 however, Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1918) has resurrected barrovianus, as a subspecies of liypcrboreus, 

 on the claim that the Alaska bird is smaller and has a darker mantle than the birds from Green- 

 land or from Europe. Whether this claim is well founded or not, it is apparently a fact that 

 the characters he ascribes to the Alaska bird hold true in a large majority of the specimens, 

 though there are some exceptions to the rule. Doctor Dwight, however, still maintains that the 

 proposed race is unworthy of recognition in nomenclature." 



Until some of these disputes are cleared up, as far as I can see this Department will have 

 to recognize these birds as the Iceland gull (Larus leucopterus) , as they do not come within the 

 size of hyperboreas, and I cannot place them elsewhere. 



Notes on the Occuebence of the White Pelican (Pelecantjs ebythboriiyxchos). 



Pelicans are not very commonly found in British Columbia, although two species occur. 

 A fine specimen of the white pelican (Pelecanns crytlirorhynchos) was secured by Mr. Jack 

 Bessonette at Macaulay Point, Rod Hill, Victoria, and presented to the Museum on October 10th, 

 1922. 



A number of these white pelicans have been taken at different times in the Interior of the 

 Province, but not many on the Coast, although we have had a specimen from Comox. The 

 farthest northern record I have on the Coast is the specimen in the Museum taken at Port 

 Essington, on the Skeena River. 



Notes on the Occuebence of the Bbown Pelican (Pelecantjs californicus). 



Several California brown pelicans (Pelccanus californicus) have been taken in this Province; 

 two specimens in the vicinity of Victoria, one near Race Rocks, the other in Esquimau Harbour, 

 and both these specimens are now in the Provincial Museum. The farthest northern record of 

 this bird in British Columbia was recorded at Burrard Inlet by the late John Fannin. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 

 By E. H. Blackmobe, F.E.S. 



The past season has been the most remarkable one from a weather standpoint that we have 

 had for over thirty years. With the exception of a few showery days, we practically had no 

 rain from April to August, the actual precipitation for the five months being 1.94 inches, most 

 of this being in the beginning of April and the end of August. 



The sunshine for the year showed 134 hours above the average annual amount. During the 

 five months, April to August, there were 1.425 hours of sunshine, giving an average of 9 , { 1 hours 

 daily. The above figures are for Victoria and vicinity only, although similar conditions prevailed 

 throughout the Province, varying according to the locality. 



It is hard to determine exactly what effect this abnormally dry weather had on insect-lifo 

 in general, but the one fact which stood out most clearly was the remarkable scarcity of noctuid 

 moths throughout the whole season. Reports from many points in Southern British Columbia 

 showed the same state of affairs. In the early spring insects of all kinds wove very scarce, but 

 as the season wore on geometers and micros were more plentiful, although many species which 

 are usually common were apparently scarce. 



A much greater interest has been shown in entomology daring the past two years, especially 

 among the younger collectors, and the Museum collections are in frequent demand for the purposes 

 of identification. 



