232 KEELER 



of flowers. Its little mate has the back streaked with 

 black and more of the same on her wings and tail, but 

 otherwise her plumage is white like that of her lord and 

 master. Nor did the song of this snowflake prove disap- 

 pointing. It was a loud, sweet, flute-like warble, fre- 

 quently uttered on the wing, and much resembles the notes 

 of the western meadow lark,although rather higher, shriller, 

 and shorter. We noticed the birds about the edge of the 

 cliffs as well as upon the tundras, and their business in 

 such exposed rocky spots was explained when a nest was 

 discovered placed far back in a crevice in the rocks upon 

 the cliff wall. The nest was made of grasses and con- 

 tained five rather light greenish eggs dotted with pale 

 brown. Later in the evening another nest was found con- 

 taining young birds which came to the edge of the hole to 

 be fed. The abundance of the Arctic fox upon the island 

 no doubt explains the unusual places in which the snow- 

 flakes tuck away their homes. 



The Lapland longspurs also were very common upon 

 Hall Island, the males with their fine black chests and 

 faces and chestnut collars; the females in their more mod- 

 est, streaked plumage. The dark Aleutian rosy finch 

 was present in numbers, and some of our party stumbled 

 upon a snowy owl with a family of droll little owlets. 



Upon approaching the edge of the cliffs a wonderful 

 scene lay below us. Some great black splinters of rock 

 two hundred feet high stood out in the water close to the 

 shore, the waves dashing about their bases, while all over 

 their sides, upon every ledge, crowded the sea birds. Be- 

 low us and opposite on the precipitous volcanic face of the 

 island was an almost solid front of birds mostly Pallas's 

 murres bustling, bobbing, and bowing, some sitting pas- 

 sively upon their single eggs, and many standing, with their 

 faces turned toward the rock wall which rose above them. 

 The myriads of birds uttering their low, hoarse, crooning 



