Mar., 1914 BIRDS OF SITKA AND VICINITY, SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA 
75 
Island, in June ; at Bear and Rodman bays, Baranof Island, in August, and at 
Hooniah and Idaho Inlet, Chichagof Island, in June and July (Grinnell, 1909, p. 
190). 
Larus Philadelphia. Bonaparte Gull. Seen occasionally on Sitka Bay 
throughout the summer. More plentiful on the east side of Baranof Island, on 
Admiralty and Kuiu islands, and along the mainland shore. 
Xema sahini. Sabine Gull. Three immature birds seen, two of which were 
secured on Sitka Bay, August 3, 1913. Not further noted. 
Sterna paradisaea. Arctic Tern. Seen on two or three occasions on Sitka 
bay during the summer of 1912. Not noted in that locality in 1913. Plentiful, 
and apparently nesting on gravel bars in Taku Inlet, on the mainland, July 19. 
1913. 
Diomedea nigripes. Black-footed Albatross. Four birds seen on the west 
coast of Baranof Island, September 2, 1912. According to Merrill, this bird is 
occasionally seen in Sitka Bay during stormy weather. He secured a speci- 
men May 20, 1908. 
Fulmanis glacialis glupischa. Pacific Fulmar. One bird in the dark phase of 
plumage, seen in Chatham Straits, east side of Baranof Island, September 6, 1913. 
Puffinus griseus. Sooty Shearwater. Common on Sitka Bay during August 
and September. Also seen in Chatham Straits, September 5-9, 1913. 
Aestrelata fisheri. Fisher Petrel. Merrill secured a male specimen of this 
rare petrel near Sitka, May 17, 1908. Now in collection of University of Wash- 
ington. 
Oceanodroma fureata. Forked-tailed Petrel. I estimated that there were 
about two thousand pairs of these birds nesting on St. Lazaria, the only place in 
the region where they were found breeding. Their nests were nearly all lo- 
cated among the grass roots on the steeper hillsides, and the young were practi- 
cally all hatched by the middle of July. Grinnell (1897a, p. 76) found the eggs 
mostly advanced in incubation June 17, 1896. The only time that I noted any of 
these petrels away from the breeding colony was September 30 and October i, 
1913, when about thirty birds were seen feeding around the Sitka docks. At this 
time the weather was very stormy outside. Merrill states that he has occasion- 
ally seen this and the next species on Sitka Bay in fall and spring, but never in 
great numbers. 
Oceanodroma beali. Beal Petrel. Although this form has not been recog- 
nized by the A. O. U. Committee, I find that a series of breeding birds from St. 
Lazaria Island are uniformly smaller than specimens of 0 . leucorhoa from the 
y\tlantic coast, thus substantiating the characters ascribed by Emerson { 1906, p. 
54) to the form beali. In wing and tail measurements beali is intermediate be- 
tween leucorhoa and kaedingi, slightly nearer the latter.":'' In beali the wing 
averages about .5 inch shorter than in leucorhoa, and about r4 inch longer than in 
kaedingi. The tail is about .25 inch shorter that that of leucorhoa and the same 
amount longer than that of kaeding. In color beali is slightly grayer than kaed- 
ingi. I e.stimated that there were about twenty thousand pairs of these petrels 
in the St. Lazaria colony. They were nesting on the grassy hillsides in company 
with the last species and also on top of the island among the timber. They breed 
generally later than fureata. Many nests containing fresh eggs were noted as 
late as July 31 (1912). Grinnell (1897a, p. 76) found the eggs of this species 
all fresh June 17, 1896. 
Phalacrocorax auritus cincinnatus. White-crested Cormorant. This bird is 
evidently only an occasional straggler to the vicinity of Sitka. It was not seen 
