THE-C?I1D?R 



Volume XIX November-December, 1917 Number b 



THE BIRDS OF MOLLY ISLAND, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 



By M. P. SKINNER 

 WITH TWO PHOTOS 



AT THE southern end of Yellowstone Lake, twenty miles from the nearest 

 tourist route and consequently secluded enough to tempt birds who pre- 

 fer such a home, are two little islands rising only a few feet above the 

 water. The islets are an eighth of a mile apart, each about four hundred feet 

 long by two hundred feet wide, their summits eight to ten feet high. No soil is ; 

 present, and the expanse of sand and gravel is broken only by a few larger 

 stones and some rather bedraggled and discouraged bushes. From the fierce 

 winds that sweep across the more open parts of the lake, these islets, the north- 

 ernmost of which is known as "Molly Island", are nicely protected in a bay of 

 the Southeast Arm, by the shore, a mile away. 



California Gulls nest on Klamath Lake, Oregon, in considerable numbers, 

 but are not reported as now breeding commonly east of there, save far to the 

 northward, on Great Slave Lake. Hence I was greatly surprised at the gulls of 

 Molly Island. Such reports as I could find noted the Ring-billed Gull (Lams 

 delaivarensis) as present and nesting in the Yellowstone ; yet the California Gull 

 (Larus calif ornicus) outnumbers the former species greatly, although there are 

 usually a few of the Ring-billed present. Both gulls and pelicans have been 

 reported from Yellowstone Lake since 1870, but were not stated to be breeding 

 there until 1890, although it is probable that such was the case long before the 

 earlier date. From the best information obtainable, the colony has been hold- 

 ing its own in numbers and should continue to do so. 



My first visit to Molly Island was in 1898, and during each season since I 

 have returned one or more times to a scene that has never lost its interest. 

 Molly Island is accessible from the Lake Hotel by either motor launch or small 



