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 Sept.,1918 OCEANIC BIRDS FROM OFF THE COAST OF WASHINGTON 179 ing unable again to reach the bottom. On this date 1 collected a specimen of the Skua (Megalestris skua), taken while eating a dead rock cod which was floating on the surface. About six of these birds were seen during the day. The captain, who is a keen observer, said that this was the third time in eleven years of fish- ing in this locality that he had seen them. He described the species to me at the Fig. 34.' BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSSES PIIOTOGRAPIIED OFF TIlE COAST OF WASH- INGTO. start of the trip, calling it the "strange bird", and the rarest bird in that lo- cality. While not of a strictly ornithological nature it may be of interest to note that on this date a school of the Alaska Fur Seal were observed playing quite close to the boat. One Black-footed Albatross (Diomedea nigripes) was seen on this date.