184 THE CONDOR Vol. XX It is easy to see that collecting in such country is discouraging, especially during mid-molting season when birds are at their quietest. Occasional glimpses of small land birds were observed as they disappeared in the tangle where it was hopeless to follow them or from whence when shot they could not be retrieved. An occasional bird peeped on either hand along the trail and could not be fur- ther investigated. High overhead one might be aware of numbers of small birds darting about the branches, but at such range that they were usually safe from everything but a rifle. .., I spent a few hours in various directions about the village of Alert Bay try- ing to discover some practicable ground but without avail. A couple of trips were made to the mouth of the Nimkish River, and once along the railroad to Nimkish Lake. Most of these trips were practically blank. The most productive work was on the waters of Alert and Nimkish bays. The list of birds seen or collected is not large, but as little has been published about sections hereabouts I present it for record. 1. Colymbus holboelli. Holboell Grebe. Three in bright red-necked plumage seen off the east coast of the island. 2. Gavia immer. Common Loon. Several loons seen every day, usually adults with two or three lmmatures. 3. Braehyramphus marmoratus. Marbled Murrelet. Three or four murrelets seen constantly in the bay. One noted from the cannery wharf was still in nuptial plum- age, but the remainder of those seen and two taken were birds of the year. 4. (?epphus olumba. Pigeon Guillemot. A few constantly present on the bay. All seen were in full black and white plumage.' None could be takea. 5. Larus Illaueeseens. Glaucous-winged Gull. Large numbers of Glaucous-winged Gulls were seen on the bay and on the tidal flats at the mouth of the Nimkish River. All plumages seenled present a-rid an adult and a bird of the year were taken. 6. Larus arllentatus. Herring Gull. A number of Herring Gulls were seen about the mouth of the Nimkish River. The majority were in various stages of juvenility. One seeming adult was taken but when in hand it proved to be not quite mature in plum- age. On dissection it turned out to be a non-breeder. There are two types of coloration among the British Columbia Herring Gulls. One has the black of the wing tips restricted and lightened to almost gray, approaching the glaucescens type and described by Brooks' as Larus thayeri; the other has blue-black wing tipping and averages a larger amount of white speSula and pattern than is shown by Atlantic birds. All intermediates exist, sub- atantiating Dr. Dwight's ?- conclusion that thayeri is a subspecies of argentatus and the Pacific coast representative of that species. Until separate breeding grounds for these two types are discovered the logical conclusion is that Larus argentatus thayeri is a highly variable or perhaps a dichromatic form. 7. Larus braehyrhynehus. Short-billed Gull. Very common, dividing the honors in numbers with the Heermann Gull. Four specimens were taken, showing as many stages in plumage. No. 10930 is a bird of the year, very similar to the comparable stage of the Herring Gull, with dark bill, flesh-colored feet and hazel iris. No. 10922 seems to be a year older and intermediate between the last and the next; the grays are suffused with [uscus tints, it has a heavy tail bar, and the dark primaries are without pattern. The bill is dark with ligh t greenish base, legs olive gray and the iris silvery. No. 10920 presumably shows a succeeding plumage. The mantle is pure gray with just traces of fuscous on secondaries, while the primaries are black with definite white pattern, and the tail bar IS nearly lost. The dark about the head is deeper in color than in the pre- vious bird, but sharper in detail and lqss suffused. Most of the plumage is fresh while the previous specimen is much worn. The soft parts are similar to the last. No. 10931 has apparently just molted into the adult winter plumage and has but a few scattered feathers of the immature. It is at least a year older than the preceding. The bill is light yellow slightly greenish at base, with red gape. The legs are yellowish olive and the iris hazel.. This last item is peculiar, for unless these specimens are abnormal they 'Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., LIX, no. 5, 1915. aAuk, XXXIV, 1917, pp. 413-414.
