2 
toward the Asiatic side. As no heavy migratory movements were notice- 
able from Kamchatka southward through the Kuril chain of islands, 
between April 26 and May 9, it seems probable that most of the sea-birds 
must pass northward far out to sea, doubtless following the warm Japan 
current toward the Aleutians and avoiding the wintry and retarded spring 
weather that is a feature of the Asiatic coast and islands. Wintry condi- 
tions, with almost daily gales and snowstorms at short intervals, prevailed 
from Oest, Kamchatka, southward to the southern Kurils, where at Hito- 
kappu, Yetorup island, the first bare ground and touches of spring were 
encountered. 
There was little opportunity for collecting out at sea; in harbour, 
time was very limited. The almost unceasing winds made field work 
difficult and sometimes impossible. Consequently, many species, though 
seen satisfactorily, are not represented by specimens in the collection. 
Many birds were observed at distances where identification could be no 
more than a guess. On the return voyage the course from Bering island 
straight for Unalaska through Bering sea, avoiding the Aleutian chain, 
and the course from Unalaska to Prince Rupert, far from land in both 
cases, necessarily reduced field work to a minimum. Field work, in fact, 
practically finished at Nikolski, Bering island, with the failure of the British 
flight and this in a measure explains the paucity of specimens and obser- 
vations of many species that otherwise would have been better represented. 
Two hundred and sixteen specimens of birds were secured. 
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help of Lieutenant-Commander 
W. J. R. Beech and his brother officers of the Thiepval ; of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Broome, and of several of the seamen who, in many ways, contri- 
buted to the success of the ornithological work. 
The quotations are from the writer’s daily notes. 
The critical remarks in small type are supplied by P. A. Taverner who 
is also responsible for the nomenclature and determination of specimens. 
The Check-list of the American Ornithologists’ Union, 1910, and its sub- 
sequent supplements, have been followed for all species and subspecies in 
that list. For other species the names used by various authors who have 
treated on the birds of the region have been given, but without any attempt 
to discriminate between them or to decide questions of subspecific identity. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
1883. Nelson, Edward W. — “Cruise of the Revenue Steamer Corwin in Alaska and the 
Northwest Arctic Ocean in 1881. Notes and Memoranda: Medical and Anthro- 
pological; Botanical; Ornithological.” Washington: Government Printing Office. 
1883. (“Birds of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean,” by E. W. Nelson, pp. 55-118.) 
1885. Stejneger, Leonhard. — “Results of Explorations in The Commander Islands and in 
Kamtschatka.” Bull. 29, XJ. S. National Museum, Washington, 1885. 
1886. Turner, L. M. — “Contributions to the Natural History of Alaska.” Results of 
investigations made chiefly in the Yukon district and the Aleutian islands; conducted 
under the auspices of the Signal Service, U. S. Army, extending from May, 1874, to 
August, 1881. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1886. 
1910. Clark, Austin Hobart.— “The Birds Collected and Observed During the Cruise of 
the United States Fisheries Steamer “Albatross” in the North Pacific Ocean, and in 
the Bering, Okhotsk, Japan, and Eastern Seas, from April to December, 1906.” From 
the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, voi. 38, pp. 25-74. Washington, 1910. 
1910-1921. Hartert, Ernst. — “Die Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna.” Berlin, 1910-1921. 
1915. Brooks, W. Sprague. — “Notes on Birds from East Siberia and Arctic Alaska.” 
Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, vol. LIX, No. 5. 
Cambridge, Mass. 1915. 
