ALASKA. 173 



50rt. Aiioi'tliiiia fro;;l<»<lylcs v:ii. a I a see lis is, (Bd.) Coles. — 

 AIuKhan U'htUr ll'nii. " Liuiiiiei-sljin." 

 Trofjlodytcs aUiHcennis, Baiud. Tiau.s. CLic.-igo Acad., i, :U.j, pi. 130, 



i\\r. ;3, (18GI).) Saint George's Is. 

 Anorthura aluscensis, Coues. Key N. A. Birds, 87, (187'2.) 

 Auurthura troylodytcH var. alasccnsis, CouES. Ibid., 3.'>1. 

 Troglodytes hyemalis var. aloscensis, Dall. Troc. Cala. Acad. 



Sci., (Feb. (r-, 187:5.) 



This iiiterostiii.i;' local loiin ()[' Anorthura differs from the ordi- 

 nary North American bird in its superior size and darker brown 

 colors, an»l in the much ;^reater length and caliber of the bilL 

 lu 3'oang birds the difference is less strongly marked. The 

 dimensions of an adult in ]\Ir. Elliott's collection are as fol- 

 lows: bill, along- culmen, .38 ; wing, 1.90 5 tail, 1.30 j tarsus, .02; 

 middle toe and claw, .04. The corresponding dimensions of an 

 average specimen of var. InjemaUs are : .30, 1.80, 1.20, .02, .58. 



" This brave little bird was first brought into notice by Mr. 

 Dall, who collected a single specimen while on the island in 

 1808, and sent it to the Smithsonian Institution. In his brief 

 note accompanying it he speaks of its being abundant there, 

 ^vhile I, in 1873, shot almost every one that I saw, and yet at the 

 end of the season, August 4, I had but seven specimens. It 

 was seldom seen, but then again in 1874 they were quite 

 numerous. 



'' It is not a migratory bird, but remains permanently upon 

 the island. Its nest is built in small, deep holes and crevices 

 in the cliffs. I have not myself seen it, but the natives say that 

 it lays from eight to ten eggs, in a nest made of soft, dry grass 

 and feathers, roofed over, with an entrance at the side to the 

 nest-chamber, thus being of elaborate construction. 



" The male is very gay during the period of mating and incu- 

 bation, llying incessantly from plant to plant or rock to rock, 

 singing a rather shrill and very loud song, and making, for a 

 small bird, a great noise. 



^'I shot the young, fully fledged, on the 28th of July, differ- 

 ing only from the parent in having a much shorter bill, and in 

 a general darker and more diffuse coloration. 



''Although Saint Paul's Island is but twenty-seven miles to 

 the northwest from Saint George's, not a single specimen of this 

 little wren has been seen there. I made, during the whole sea- 

 son of 1872, unavailing search for it. 



" The native name, ' limmer-shin,' signifies a • chew of tobacco,' 



