LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GULLS AND TERNS. 89 

 DISTRIBUTION. 



Breeding range.i—Aai&tic coasts of North Pacific and Bering Sea ; 

 from northern Japan (Yezzo), Kurile Islands, Kamchatka, and 

 shores of Sea of Okhotsk north to Gulf of Anadyr and vicinity of 

 Bering Straits. The breeding record from Harrowby Bay, Arctic 

 coast of Canada, appears to be authentic, although far outside of the 

 known breeding range. 



Winter range.— So far as known, only from Japan to the Kurile 

 Islands. 



Spring migration. — Migrants recorded at Commander Islands, 

 Bering Island, April 20 to May 5 ; Copper Island, June 13 ; Sakhalin 

 Island, May 11. They arrive on their breeding grounds in the 

 Anadyr district by April 20. 



Fall migration. — During migration birds occur along the Alaskan 

 coast, Diomede Islands, September; off Nome, August 31 to Septem- 

 ber 8; St. Michael, September 9; Port Clarence, Sakhalin Island, late 

 September. The last birds leave the Anadyr district late in October. 



Casual records.— Stragglers have been recorded at Herald Island 

 (Bidgway), Unalaska (Chernofsky Bay, October 1, 1880), and taken 

 in Mackenzie (Franklin Bay, June 9, 1901). 



Egg dates.— Japan: Eight records, May 23 to June 18; four rec- 

 ords, May 29 to June 15. 



LARUS OCCIDENTALS Audubon. 



WESTEBN GULL. 



HABITS. 



Along the numerous beaches of the California coast the dark-mantled 

 western gull is the most conspicuous and the most universally abun- 

 dant sea bird throughout the whole year, everywhere much in evi- 

 dence and everywhere tame and familiar— a welcome visitor as a 

 useful scavenger and a pretty feature in the seashore scenery. The 

 immaculate purity of its snow-white plumage is kept spotlessly clean, 

 in spite of its untidy feeding habits. As we see these beautiful black 

 and white birds sailing along the ocean cliffs they seem to reflect 

 the clear freshness of the beach and sea and sky; and as we see 

 them walking daintily on their long legs over the clean sand it 

 seems incongruous to associate them with the struggling screaming 

 mob of hungry birds that we have just seen fighting for and gorging 

 themselves on the refuse from the sewers or the garbage dumps. 



During my stay at Redondo Beach, in June, T spent considerable 

 time watching ' these ' interesting and familiar birds. There were) 

 always plenty of them to be seen flying along 1 the beach or resting 



