12 GRoss,Birds of the Bowdoin-MacMillan ArcticExpedition [Jan.Auk BIRDS 01½ THE BOWDOIN-MACMILLAN ARCTIC EX•PEDITION 1934 BY ALFRED O. GROSS Plates 2-5 THE Bowdoin-MacMillanArctic Expeditionof 1934 was for the purpose of studyingand collectingbirds and plantson the coastof Labradorand the Button Islands. The latter lie between Gray and Hudson Bay Straits off the northernend of the Labradorpeninsula. They were discoveredby Sir ThomasButton as early as 1614 but as far as I know no biologicalsurvey had been made of them previousto the presentexpedition. Certain birds suchas Fulmars and I•ittiwakes were known to be very abundantabout the islandsbut their nestingsites were unknownin that vicinity. It had been suggestedthat they probablybred on the cliffsof the Buttonsbut what life existed on those bleak and inhospitableislands was merely conjectural. Landingon the Button Islandsis extremelydifficult because of the strong tides and currents,the impenetrableice packsas well as densefogs and treacherousstorms which prevail off Cape Chidley, the "Cape Horn" of the North. CommanderDonald B. MacMillan, famousArctic explorerand alumnus of BowdoinCollege, said he couldland a party on the islands. His staunch eighty-eight-footschooner, the "Bowdoin,"was made ready for the expedi- tion. Seven Bowdoin students volunteered their services to assist in the biologicalwork and to aid in the navigationof the vesselunder MacMillan's command. Dr. David Potter, professorof botany at Clark University,and two of his studentsjoined us with the purposeof making collectionsof plants of the Labradorcoast. With thesemajor objectivesthe "Bowdoin" sailedfrom Portland, Maine, on June 16, 1934, with a personnelof fifteen men including Captain MacMillan, a first mate, an engineer,and a cook. In this paper I proposeto give a brief accountof the birds collectedand observed from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence northward and to include certain observationsof interest made along the coastsof Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. About forty speciesof birdswere observedduring our stay at CapeBreton Island, but sincethe bird life of this regionis well known, these have not been included in the present account. In connectionwith the lists of skins,the total length and wing-extentin millimetersand the weights in grams are given in most instancessince these measurements, which are very useful in life-historystudies, cannot be obtainedfrom dried skins. There is a seriouslack of data concerningthe weightsof birds in ornithologicalliterature. T•r• AUK, VOL. 54 PLATE2 CAPE CHIDLEY ON A QUIET CLEARDAY TIlE BUTTONIs•s; AIRPLANEVIEW TAKENBY THE FORBESEXPEDITION; LACY ISLAND IN TIlE FOREGROUND Vol.1937 54'1J GROSS,Birds of the Bowdoin-MacMillan ArcticExpedition 13 Notes on food and habits of the birds are included whenever such infor- mation was obtained. The crowdedquarters of the "Bowdoin" and the generallack of facilitiesprevented us from makingextensive collections but we succeededin obtainingapproximately 250 skinswhich are now in the BowdoinCollege collection. Ninety-threespedes and subspeciesof birds were collectedor observed,but comparativelyfew land birds are included sinceour observationswere limited to the coast,chiefly of the outer islands. Becauseof the•great distancesto be traveled,most of the stopswere of necessityof shortduration. This preventedmaking an adequatesurvey of the bird life, muchless any attempt at completelife-history studies. Much time wasconsumed in sailingand in weathering-outstorms, experiences not always enjoyable to one subject to violent seasickness.In addition to collectingwe took every opportunity to band birds. A specialeffort was madeto band largenumbers of ArcticTerns at their coloniesin the vicinity of Turnavik and the Red Islands,since previous work on this spedeshas yieldedvery interestingand important informationconcerning their migra- tory movements. About six hundredphotographs and five thousandfeet of standard35-mm. motion-picturefilm were taken as a part of the records. I am indebtedto the Bowdoinstudents for assistancein collectingbirds and especiallyto Howard H. Vogel, Jr., who preparedsome of the skins. Mr. Vogel also made collectionsof insectsand parasites. Every bird was thoroughlyexamined for parasitesat the time it was killed. A list of the Mallophagaand their hosts is included as a part of this paper. Finally I wish to expressmy gratitude to CommanderDonald B. MacMillan through whom the expeditionwas made possibleand who eo6peratedin every way to make the trip enjoyable,and the scientificwork successful. For a generalaccount of the expeditionthe reader is referred to the September,1935, issue of Natural History Magazine(vol. 36, pp. 133-148). To assistthe readerin locatingthe geographicalpositions of placeswhere birdswere collectedthe followingitinerary of the moreimportant stops of the expeditionwith dates is given. June 16-20 Portland; Maine and Nova Scotia coasts;Gut of Canso; Port Hawkes- bury; Cape Breton Island, N. S. June 20-21 Port Hawkesbury. June 22-23 Magdalen Islands. June 24 Bird Rock. June 25-26 Mecatina (also spelledMekattina) Island and north shoreof the Gulf of St. Lawrence. June 27 Eau St. Clair Harbor; Straits of Belle Isle; Battle Harbor. June 27-29 Battle Harbor; Greater Caribou Island. June 29-July 1 AssisezHarbor and islands. July 2 Sophia Harbor. July 3 Gannet Islands; Indian Head; North Shoal Bay. 14 GROSS,Birds of the Bowdoin-MacMillan ArcticExpedition [Jan.Auk July 4 Aillek Bay. July 5-6 Hopedale. July 7 Kauk Harbor; Nain. July 8 Commander MacMillan's Scientific Station and return to Nain. July 9 Port Manvers. July 10 SaddleIsland; Cape Mugford (Dr. David Potter and two students put ashoreat Cape Mugford). July 11 Grenfell Tickle (alsoknown as MacLellan Strait or Chidley Strait). July 12 Bowdoin Harbor (newly named); Cape Chidley, 60ø 25• N. July 13 Lady Job Harbor; Harvey Harbor; Gray Straits, 60ø 32• N. July 14-22 Port Burwell (Killineck); motor-boat trip to Cape Chidley and various trips on foot. July 23-31 A. O. Gross,four studentsand an Eskimo guide on the Button Islands. Commander MacMillan, •hree students, three members of the crew to Cape Mugford to pick up Dr. Potter's party and return •o Button Islands, 60ø 35• N. Aug. 1 Port Burwell; attempt to reach Bariin Island; retreat to Grenfell Tickle. Aug. 2-5 Grenfell Tickle and harbors at eastern end of Tickle. Aug. 6 Eclipse Harbor. Aug. 7-8 Sea Plane Cove; LouseHarbor; SevenIslands Bay; Kau-majet Moun- tains. Aug. 9 Bishop'sMitre; Cape Mugford; Lady Bight Harbor. Aug. 10 Port Manvers; Nain. Aug. 11 Taber Island; MacMillan's Station; Anaktalok Bay; Nain. Aug. 12 Nain; Perkalujak Island via motor boat and return to Nain. Aug. 13 Voise Bay. Aug. 14 Perret Tickle and Islands;Windy Tickle. Aug. 15 Hopedale; Turnavik West; Red Islands. Aug. 16 Turnavik West; Red Islands; Jock's Islands; Makkovik. Aug. 17 Tinker Island; various unna•nedislands; Indian Harbor. Aug. 18 Motor-boat trip to Puffin Island and return to Indian Harbor; Hamilton Inlet. Aug. 19 Herring Gull Islands;Gannet Islands; Indian and Domino Tickles. Aug. 20 Battle Harbor; Anton's Cove. Aug. 21 Cape Charles;Henley's Harbor; St. Peter's Islands. Aug. 22-23 Red Bay. Aug. 24 Western Newfoundland coast. Aug. 25 Sydney. Aug. 26 Port Bevis; Bras d'Or Lakes. Aug. 27 St. Peter's Locks; Port Hawkesbury. Aug. 29 Nova Scotia coast. Aug. 30 BowdoinScientific Station; Kent's Island, Bay of Fundy. Aug. 31 Rockland, Maine. Sept. I Portland, Maine. ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS COMMO•rLoo•r, Gavia immer immer (Briinnich).--A pair was seen a• Amherst Island of the Magdalen group, Gulf of Saint Lawrence,on June 22. A lone individual was flying about Bird Rock June 25. On June 27, thirty-two Common Loons were counted en route from the Straits of Belle Isle to Battle Harbor, Labrador. On Vol...•11937 J GROSS,Birds of the Bowgain-MacMillan Arctic Expedition 15 July 17 an adult was seenswimming about in a smallfresh-water pond near Port Burwell;the bird'sbehavior indicated that it wasnesting, but neithereggs nor young werefound. The presenceof severalother individuals in the vicinity makesit highly probablethat the CommonLoon is a nestingbird in Labrador north of the 60th parallel. i•ED-THROATEDLOON, Gavia stellata (Pontoppidan).--The first l•ed-throated Loonswere seenwhen we reachedthe Straits of Belle Isle, and thereafterthey ap- pearedfrequently. We sawthem singlybut moreoften in pairsor groupsof threeor four/lying high or in advanceof our bow. A few of them were noted at considerable distancesoffshore. I countedfifty-four Red-throatedLoons on July 7 during the trip betweenHopedale and Nain, evidenceof the great abundanceof thesebirds alongthe Labradorcoast. On July 23 a pair wasseen/lying over the "Bowdoin"as we enteredthe channelbetween the islandscomprising the Button group. We saw severalbreeding pairs during our stay on the islandsJuly 23-31. A male bird weighing1973 grams,length 678 mm., extent 1175 mm., was taken August2 on a smalllake near the entranceof GrenfellTickle, northernLabrador. The stomachcontents, weighing 14.8 grams, consisted of smallstones and partially digestedmasses of fish. On August 14 three Red-throated Loons were seenat Windy Tickle. SOOTYSHEaRWATER, Pu•nus griseus(Gmelin).--The Sooty and Greater Shear- waterswere seen off the Nova Scotiacoast on June19. Both specieswere also present in largenumbers along the Labrador coastbetween the Straits of Belle Isle and Battle tIarbor on June27. SootyShearwaters were observed at Hopedale,July 6, a pairat Indian Harbor,August 17 andone at HenleyHarbor,