oct. 1906. 
HERRING GULL AND CASPIAN TERN. 
115 
caused me to abandon the work which had shown promise of very 
interesting results. Forty-three good photographs were secured, 
which afforded exact data for mounting the gulls in the Museum's 
group, and so the main object of the trip was accomplished. 
I shall probably be unable to continue the observations another 
season, as they will then have no direct relation to the museum 
work in hand, therefore, with a full appreciation of the insuf- 
ficiency of my observations, I present them for what they are 
worth. 
Our first view this year of the colony caused much disappoint- 
ment, as it showed that the partnership in the island that existed 
in 1905 between the terns and gulls had been severed, and that 
only the gulls were present. It was also apparent that the season 
was farther advanced than last year, and that there was little 
opportunity of observing some of the younger stages. 
The absence of the terns may, perhaps, be accounted for by 
our shooting a number of birds the preceding year. Of their 
habit in this matter Morris says : "* * * yet it has been re- 
marked that when they are once disturbed they do not easily 
return to their nest, and are said even not to re-visit the same spot 
the following year if they are fired at." 
In all, I remained in the midst of the colony twenty-seven 
hours, covering the periods from 10:20 a. m. to 5 p. m. of July 
3d, and from 3 130 p. m. July 6th to 11 a. m. July 7th. This gave 
me a little over a solar day of gull life, and, while very interesting, 
it lacked much of the exhaustiveness required to elucidate some 
of the conundrums presented. For one whose business would per- 
mit, it would be worth while to keep such a colony under fairly 
close observation from the time that it formed in the spring until 
it disbanded in the fall. 
Gravel Island lies east of the peninsula, about a half mile off 
shore and about three miles south of its northern end. It forms 
the western border of the ship canal leading to the passage through 
Death's Door. The foundation of the island is a limestone reef 
that here comes to the surface .and has received a considerable 
quantity of gravel and sand, raising the island in its highest parts 
about three or four feet above the water. In form it is somewhat 
boot-shaped, its longer diameter approximately north and south. 
It is about a hundred yards long by thirty to forty yards wide. 
