Mar., 1914 
BIRDS OF SITKA AND VICINITY, SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 
73 
most noteworthy of these and the time of their visits being as follows : F. H. von 
Kittlitz, summer of 1827; Ferdinand Bischoff, 1865-66; Tarleton H. Bean, June, 
1880: Joseph Grinnell and Joseph Mailliard, summer of 1896; Prof. W. T. 
Shaw, summer of 1906, and the Alexander Expedition to southeastern Alaska, 
summer of 1907. I have incorporated in this paper many items from the pub- 
lished notes of these observers, but have omitted a few early records which seem 
to me to be of doubtful authenticity. 
With a few exceptions I have followed the nomenclature adopted by the A. 
O. U. Committee in the Check-List of 1910, and supplement to the same. 
Colymbus holboelli. Plolboell Grebe. Whether this species is a rare resident 
or only an occasional straggler in the Sitkan district, is a matter yet to be de- 
termined. I did not note it at all during 1912, but during 1913 saw it on Sitka 
Bay on three occasions, as follows: One bird near St. Lazaiia Island, July 24; 
two birds near Sitka, August 14, and one bird at Silver Bay, September 21. The 
species was taken at Sitka by Bischoff during the Russo- American Telegraph 
Expedition (Dali & Bannister, 1869, p. 308). 
Gavia immer. Common Loon. Noted frecjuently on salt water throughout 
the Sitkan district. Most plentiful after August 15. 
Gavia pacifica. Pacific Loon. At no time during my stay was I able to posi- 
tively identify this species. Loons, while plentiful, were invariably wild, and I 
was unable to approach close enough to distinguish the differences between this 
species and the next. Grinnell (1898, p. 124) records a specimen of the Pacific 
Loon taken at Sitka by Dr. Wilber, June 26, 1896. It is probably a regular mi- 
grant. 
Gavia stellata. Red-throated Loon. Fairly common summer visitant on fresh 
water lakes. Plentiful on salt water during migrations. According to Merrill, 
a pair of these birds nest on Swan Lake, near Sitka, each year. They arrive 
about April 15, and the eggs are deposited about June i. During my stay in 
Sitka, this pair had young on the lake, and they could be seen many times each 
day flying directly over the town to the salt water in search of food. Their loud 
quacking notes could often be heard before the birds were visible. 
Lunda cirrhata. Tufted Puffin. Abundant resident. About two thousani 
pairs nesting on St. Lazaria Island. A few also nesting on small islets off Bior- 
ka Island. Grinnell (1898, p. 124) noted fresh eggs in the former locality June 
17, 1896. At the time of my visits to the nesting grounds in late July and August, 
the nesting cavities nearly all contained young. 
Fratercula comiculata. Horned Puffin. About a dozen pairs of these puffins 
were nesting on St. Lazaria Island. The nest cavities were located in the most 
inaccessible cliffs on the island. Not noted elsewhere in the vicinity. 
Cerorhinca monocerata. Rhinoceros Auklet. Fairly common on Sitka Bay 
throughout my stay. A colony of about tw^o hundred pairs w'as nesting on St. 
Lazaria. The young were raised and the nesting colony deserted, however, be- 
fore the time of my arrival on the island in late July. In one burrow an adult 
bird and a nearly grown young w^ere found dead, the nest cavity having been 
caved in by a bear and the birds either crushed or smothered (Willett, 1912. 
p. 423). The burrows of these birds are entirely different in construction and 
location from those of any of the other birds nesting on the island. They are 
much larger than those of the petrels, and longer and differently located than 
those of the puffins. The colony is well up tow'ard the top of the island among 
the timber, and the burrows frequently run under logs and among the I'oots of 
the trees. 
