Birds observed in Kamchatka. 
281 
being very numerous at Petropavlovsk, though it is unknown 
at Bering's Island, where the latter is equally abundant. 
One or two Black Guillemots, Cepphus columba (Pall.) 
or C. snowi Stejn., were also met with, but this species is one 
of the least numerous in individuals of all the sea-birds of 
Bering Sea. The white-winged Guillemots of this sea and 
of the Kuril Islands were believed to be identical, until in 
1897 Dr. Stejneger pointed out that there are two forms, 
and suggested the name snowi as suitable for that of the 
Kuril Islands. Both are distinct from C. carbo Pall., the 
wholly black form which frequents the Japanese waters. 
Petropavlovsk is a mere village, with log-houses nestling 
close to the picturesque shores of Avacha Bay. Under the 
eaves of some of the log-houses we saw on this occasion the 
nests of the Brown-bellied Sw r allow, Hirundo ty fieri Jerdon, 
but when we returned on August 27th, 1897, these birds had 
already left for the south. During our first visit, however, 
we spent very little time at Petropavlovsk itself, but retired 
from comparative civilization to the wilds of Tareinski 
Harbour, on the opposite side of Avacha Bay. Here the thick 
woods which grow right down to the edge of the loch, though 
to all appearance a regular botanical paradise, seemed to be 
rather destitute of bird-life; but the very denseness of the 
luxuriant undergrowth prevented me from penetrating to any 
great distance from the shore, or from seeing or securing 
specimens of the few small Passerine birds whose notes could 
be heard in the bushes. Such were a yellow Bunting-like 
bird, probably Hypocentor aureolus (Pall.), seen several times 
at Tareinski in 1896, but not obtained; a pair of very 
shy Siberian Bullfinches, Pyrrhula pyrrhula kamtschatica 
(Taczan.) ; and a pair of golden-wdnged Finches, possibly 
the Siskin, a bird, however, which does not seem to have 
been recorded from Kamchatka, although it occurs at the 
mouth of the Amoor. 
One afternoon at Tareinski I constantly heard the song 
of a Bunting in the thick undergrowth near the edge of 
the loch, but could not see the songster. The bird sang in 
a manner very like that of our common Yellow-Hammer, 
