184 THE CONDOR Vol. XX 



It is easy to see that collecting in such country is discouraging, especially 

 during mid-molting season when birds are at their quietest. Occasional glimpses 

 of small land birds were observed as they disappeared in the tangle where it was 

 hopeless to follow them or from whence when shot they could not be retrieved. 

 An occasional bird peeped on either hand along the trail and could not be fur- 

 ther investigated. High overhead one might be aware of numbers of small birds 

 darting about the branches, but at such range that they were usually safe from 

 everything but a rifle. 



I spent a few hours in various directions about the village of Alert Bay try- 

 ing to discover some practicable ground but without avail. A couple of trips 

 were made to the mouth of the Nimkish River, and once along the railroad to 

 Nimkish Lake. Most of these trips were practically blank. The most productive 

 work was on the waters of Alert and Nimkish bays. The list of birds seen or 

 collected is not large, but as little has been published about sections hereabouts 

 I present it for record. 



1. Colymbus holboelli. Holboell Grebe. Three in bright red-necked plumage 

 seen oif the east coast of the island. 



2. Gavia immer. Common Loon. Several loons seen every day, usually adults 

 with two or three immatures. 



3. Brachyramphus marmoratus. Marbled Murrelet. Three or four muirelets 

 seen constantly in the bay. One noted from the cannery wharf was still in nuptial plum- 

 age, but the remainder of these seen and two taken were birds of the year. 



4. Cepphus columba. Pigeon Guillemot. A few constantly present on the bay. 

 All seen were in full black and white plumage. None could be taken. 



5. Larus glaucescens. Glaucous-winged Gull. Large numbers of Glaucous-winged 

 Gulls were seen on the bay and on the tidal flats at the mouth of the Nimkish River. 

 All plumages seemed present and an adult and a bird of the year were taken. 



6. Larus argentatus. Herring Gull. A number of Herring Gulls were seen about 

 the mouth of the Nimkish River. The majority were in various stages of juvenility. 

 One seeming adult was taken but when in hand it proved to be not quite mature in plum- 

 age. On dissection it turned out to be a non-breeder. There are two types of coloration 

 among the British Columbia Herring Gulls. One has the black of the wing tips restricted 

 and lightened to almost gray, approaching the glaucescens type and described by Brooks 1 

 as Larus thayeri; the other has blue-black wing tipping and averages a larger amount of 

 white specula and pattern than is shown by Atlantic birds. All intermediates exist, sub- 

 stantiating Dr. Dwight's- conclusion that thayeri is a subspecies of argentatus and the 

 Pacific coast representative of that species. Until separate breeding grounds for these 

 two types are discovered the logical conclusion is that Larus argentatus thayeri is a 

 highly variable or perhaps a dichromatic form. 



7. Larus brachyrhynchus. Short-billed Gull. Very common, dividing the honors 

 in numbers with the Heermann Gull. Four specimens were taken, showing as many 

 stages in plumage. No. 10930 is a bird of the year, very similar to the comparable stage 

 of the Herring Gull, with dark bill, flesh-colored feet and hazel iris. No. 10922 seems to 

 be a year older and intermediate between the last and the next; the grays are suffused 

 with fuscus tints, it has a heavy tail bar, and the dark primaries are without pattern. 

 The bill is dark with light greenish base, legs olive gray and the iris silvery. No. 10920 

 presumably shows a succeeding plumage. The mantle is pure gray with just traces of 

 fuscous on secondaries, while the primaries are black with definite white pattern, and 

 the tail bar is nearly lost. The dark about the head is deeper in color than in the pre- 

 vious bird, but sharper in detail and less suffused. Most of the plumage is fresh while 

 the previous specimen is much worn. The soft parts are similar to the last. No. 10931 

 has apparently just molted into the adult winter plumage and has but a few scattered 

 feathers of the immature. It is at least a year older than the preceding. The bill is 

 light yellow slightly greenish at base, with red gape. The legs are yellowish olive and 

 the iris hazel. This last item is peculiar, for unless these specimens are abnormal they 



^ull. Mus. Comp. Zool., LIX, no. 5, 1915. 

 2 Auk, XXXIV, 1917, pp. 413-414. 



