The Gull

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V^me 2 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, DECEMBER, 1920 Number 12

DKCEMBKR MEETING: The next rcgj.ih ir meeting of the Associa-
tion will be held on Thursday evening, 9th inst., at eight o’clock sharp, in
the Lecture Hall of the Califor nia Development Board, mezzanine floor of
the Fer.ry Building.

Dr. Barton W. Evermann, Honorary Member of the Association, will
give an illustrated account of “A Recent Trip to the Hawaiian islands.”
\'isitors will be welcomed.

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DECEMBER FIELD TRIP will be taken on Sunday, December 12th,
to Big Lagoon, via Muir Woods; returning via Coyote Creek and the old
rifle range to Manzanita; distance, 12 miles. Purchase round trip tickets to
Mill Valley, 52c. Take Sausalito Ferry, 8:15 a. m. Bring lunch and can-
teens. In event of rain falling at this hour, trip will be postponed to 19th.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NOVEMBER MEETING: The forty-sixth
regidar meeting of the Association was held on November 11th, in the
Ferry Building, with President D’Evelyn in the chair; Mrs. C. R. Smith,
Secretary; twenty-one members and nine guests in attendance.

The Board of Directors convened just prior to the meeting and elected
Miss Susan E. Beaman to membership.

Following a brief business session. Dr. G. Dallas Hanna, Curator of
Invertebrate Paleontology, California Academy of Sciences, delivered a
lecture on the “Birds of the Alaska Seal Islands,” copiously illustrated bj'-
excellent lantern slides and highly interesting throughout.

I Died, November, 1920, Howard M. Leggett, Member of the Association. |

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BIRDS OF THE ALASKA FUR-SEAL ISLANDS

The Alaska Fur Seal Islands, otherwise known as the Pribilof Group,
are known far and wide as the breeding grounds of fur-seals and the site
of the industry which centers around the taking of the pelts for market.
If it were not for the overshadowing importance of this industry the islands
w'ould be famous nevertheless for the vast rookeries of sea birds which are
found there. The towering cliffs of rugged volcanic rock furnish horizontal
shelves, and innumerable nooks and crevices which afford admirable nesting
places for such birds as fulmars, kittiwakes, murres, auklcts and puffins.

The commercial operations with their international importance make
the Pribilof Islands exceedingly valuable and their natural history has
probably been more intensively studied than that of any other area of
equal size in northern North America. Scarcely a year passes without

THE GUEE

sonic one concerned with biology going there in the interests of the fur-seal
lierd. Tliese men have often been ornithologists, at least as amateurs and
the records have been kept strictly up to date.

Only 45 species and sub-species of birds are found regularly in migra-
tion and breeding season, but stragglers have swelled the list to 133. Thus
about 66 per cent of the species have appeared there accidentally, a con-
dition probably not known elsewhere in the world. The records are sup-
ported by actual specimens in all cases except six. No less than 15 species
have been taken on the I’ribilof Islands for the first time in North America.
They arc the type locality for five species and sub-species but only one is
believed to be endemic. Wandering birds come from nearly all parts of
the northern portion of the northern hemisphere. Europe, Siberia, Kam-
chatka, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, as well as Canada and Alaska have fur-
nished species for the list. Heligoland in the North Sea is the only other
place which may be as cosmopolitan. The twm localities furnish a fair
commentary upon the erratic wanderings of birds. Even the small amount
of collecting on the Pribilofs in 1920 resulted in the capture of two species
for the first time. Strangely enough, rare visitors have seldom been taken
twice.

Stragglers are not confined to the groups of water birds, as might be
suspected, but take in many families of land birds such as thrushes, hawks,
owls, sparrows, haw-finches, grosbeaks, crossbills, cuckoos, swallows and
swifts. The ducks, geese and shore birds would of course be expected.
Those globe wanderers, however, such as the albatrosses, petrels and shear-
waters, are represented only by species which would be expected there.

Only 22 species nest on the Islands, but some of these exist in such
vast numbers that estimates mean but little. In 1918 the least possible
estimate of Pallas’ Murre was 10,000,000 pairs nesting on St. George Island
alone. This had for a basis, the area of the cliff surface and the number of
pairs found in a given unit. When one looks upward from the base of that
incomparable precipice through a thousand feet of air-laden niurres flying
to and from their ledges, the impression is bewildering.

Enormous numbers of other species live there also, but are less con-
spicuous. These are the kittiwakes, fulmars, puffins and crested, paroquet
and least anklets. The latter has been said to be most abundant species of
wild bird on earth. Certainly it is the most abundant species congregated
in one small area. While they are found in the smaller cracks and crevices
of the cliffs, the great majority resort to the rough boulder beaches and
the interstices of the volcanic rocks of which some of the mountains are
eomposed. In these localities they are comparable only to swarms of bees,
gnats or Alaskan mosquitoes. The stocky little birds, a trifle larger than
an English sparrow, fly to and from the rookeries and circle over them in
clouds, in numbers too great for human comprehension. A rough estimate,
based upon the areas of the rookeries, came to 25,000,000 pairs. There may
be half this number or double it.

Natural enemies are practically absent about the Islands, but, of course,
the birds enter largely into the diet of the native population. They catch
the least anklets in nets similar to the butterfly net of the entomologist.
Other species are shot in considerable numbers. It is known, however, that
not over 10,000 individuals are killed annually by the 300 people living there.
This number is so insignificant as compared to the total that its effect is
imperceptible. No appreciable diminution of any species has been recorded.
Modern methods of living and the introduction of the tin can are reducing
constantly the number of birds required for food, and \vhere they are so
ahundant no one shoots for sport. Unless some natural catastrophe befalls
the birds up there, the Pribilof Islands should remain indefinitely one of
the ornithological paradises of the earth.

G. Dallas Hanna.

THE GULL

BIRD LAWS HEREABOUTS

"llic State of Calilornia lias designated March seventh of each year as
Bird and Arlior Day, and has directed its observance in all public schools
and educational institutions by suitable iustructiou as to the economic value
of our birds and trees and for the promotion of a spirit of protection
toward them.

The following data will show that the principle of bird protection has
become thoroughly woven into the fabric of Federal, State and municipal
government. It is, of course, better to inculcate the principles of bird
preservation than simply to punish an offender and leave him in a hostile
frame of mind, but it is none the less important that all bird lovers should
know the support furnished by the law.

The Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it unlawful, at any time
or in any manner, to hunt, take, kill, sell, purchase or possess any of the
following birds, or any part or nest or eggs thereof:

Migratory insectivorous Mrcls: Cuckoos, flickers and other wood-
peckers; night-hawks or bidl-bats and whip-poor-wills; swifts; hum-
mingbirds; flycatchers; bobolinks, meadowlarks and orioles; grosbeaks;
tanagers; martins and other swallows; waxwings, shrikes, vireos; war-
blers; pipits; catbirds and brown thrashers; wrens; brown creepers; nut-
hatches; chickadees and titmice; kinglets and gnatcatchers; robins and
other thrushes; and all other perching birds which feed entirely or
chiefly on insects.

Other migratory non-game birds: Auks, auklets, bitterns, fulmars,
gannets, grebes, guillemots, gulls, herons, jaegers, loons, murres, pet-
rels, puffins, shearwaters and terns.

Exceptions : Collecting for scientific purposes under permit of the Secretary
of Agriculture.

The Penal Code of California:

The only game birds whose killing is permitted at all are: mountain,
desert and valley quail; grouse, sage hen and dove; ducks, (except wood
ducks), geese, brant, Wilson snipe, coot and gallinule. All other game birds
are protected to the same extent as non-game birds.

The Code makes it a misdemeanor to kill, catch or possess, living or
dead, any wild birds other than those specified in the preceding paragraph.
It is likewise unlawful to take, destroy, or possess, the nest or eggs of any
wild bird protected by the Code.

Exceptions :

1. The English sparrow, great horned owl, sharp-shinned hawk. Cooper
hawk, duck hawk, butcher bird, blue jay and house finch, (linnet), are not
protected by the Code.

2. In districts 1, 2, and 3, the blackbird is not protected.

3. Wild birds found destroying berries, fruit or crops, may be destroyed
by the owner or tenant of tire premises where the birds are caught in the act,
but the birds so killed may not be shipped nor sold.

4. Any non-game bird may be kept as a pet, if a permit be first obtained
from the Fish and Game Commission.

5. Birds, nests, and/or eggs, may be collected and possessed for scientific
purposes, but only under permit of Fish and Game Commission.

The Code makes it a misdemeanor to hunt, kill, catch or possess, any
wild bird or wild animal, in districts designated as Game Refuges.

Exceptions : Birds described in the Code as predatory, namely, blue jays, Eng-
lish sparrows, great horned owls, sharp-shinned. Cooper and duck hawks,
and house finches, (linnets), may be destroyed or captured, but only by a
person who has previously secured a special permit from the Fish and
Game Commis.sion.

THE GUEE

Alameda Municipal Code makes it unlawful to entrap, kill oi destroy,
any bird or birds except English sparrows in the City of Alanicda; and it is
unlawful to discharge fire-arms of any sort, or to hurl any inissile by means
of a sling in the city, or to discharge any spring, bow or air gun upon any"
public street or place in the city. Orel. 143 N. S. permits shooting on bay,
by certain persons, not less than 500 yards off shore, during ducking season.

Berkeley Ordinances make it unlawful to discharge any air gun or fire-
arm of any kind or to use any sling; or to kill or trap any bird or birds
excepting sparrows and butcher birds, within the limits of the city.

Oakland Ordinances make it unlawful to trap, snare, or otherwise cap-
ture or kill any wild bird, except water fowl and birds of prey, within the
limits of the city. It is unlawful to discharge any fire-arm within the city
limits, except under certain special circumstances, one of which being the
destruction of noxious animals upon land owned or occupied by the persons
using the fire-arms. It is unlawful to discharge any spring, bow or air gun
upon any public street or place in the city.

San Francisco Ordinances make it unlawful to discharge any fire-arms
within the limits of the City and County of San Francisco, except under
special permit of the Mayor or Board of Police Commissioners; or to
possess or use any sling-shot within the city, or to use an air gun outside
a regularly licensed shooting gallery. It is unlawful to kill or destroy any
bird in or upon any public street or square.

Any bird is entitled to the
cited above.

protection specified for it under any provision

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A. S. Kibbe.

NOVEMBER FIELD TRIP was taken on Sunday, November 14tb, to
Lagunitas Lake. The sky was overcast, but the weather made walking
comfortable and observation easy. Birds encountered were: Eared grebe.
Western and California gulls; Brandt cormorant, green-winged teal, canvas-
backs and scaups; ruddy ducks, great blue heron and coots; sandpipers on
mole, kildeer, sharp-shinned and sparrow hawks and an osprey; kingfisher,
California woodpecker, flicker and black phoebe; coast and California jays
and crows; green-backed goldfinches, pine siskins, Nuttall and song spar-
rows; juncoes, fox sparrow, California and San Francisco towhees; Sierra
creeper, wren-tit, bush-tit, golden and ruby-crowned kinglets; hermit thrush,
robin and western bluebird. Tbirty-eigbt species in all.

Members present were: Mesdames Kelly, Kibbe and Reygadas; Mes-
demoiselles Ames, Beaman, Griffin and Pierce; Messrs. Kelly and Kibbe.
As guests, Mrs. Bridges, Miss Calhoun and Mr. Bridges. Nine members
and three guests.

AUDUBON ASSOCIATION OF THE PACIFIC

FOR THE STUDY AND THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS

President F. W. D’Evelyn 314 Phelan Building:. San Francisco

Recording Secretary Mrs. Carl R. Smith 563 42d Avenue, San Francisco

Corresponding Secretary C. B, Lastreto 260 California St., San Francisco

Treasurer A. S. Kihhe 1534 Grove St., Berkeley

Headijuarters, 312-314 Phelan Euilding, San Francisco. Phone, Kearny 943

Meets second Thursday of each month in Lecture Room of California Development Board,

Ferry Building, San Francisco.

Every one welcome. Active Memhership, $3.00 per year, including Bulletin.

Address Bulletin correspondence to Treasitrer.

Subscription to Bulletin alone. 35c per year.

Single copies, 5c.