178 ALASKA 



.55 to .GO in breadth. The labels of various specimens before 

 us from Arctic ximerica record a nest of " hay," lined with deers' 

 hair, or feathers. 



'<The longspar, a resident bird, is a delightful vocalist, sing- 

 ing all through the mouth of June in the most charming man- 

 ner, rising high in the air, and hovering on fluttering- wings 

 over its setting mate. The song is only too short, lasting but 

 a few moments, though continually repeated. The bird is much 

 more shy and reserved than the common snaguiskie, rarely 

 entering the village. It is most abundant on Saint Paul's, 

 where, unlike the snowflake, it seeks the low, grassy grounds, 

 both for food and nesting, being never found among the rough 

 bowlders chosen for a home by the other species of Plectro- 

 phanes. 



" T'wo nests which I found were built in tussocks of grass, on 

 a low 'hummocky' flat, between the village and the main ridge 

 of Saint George's, sheltered and half concealed beneath a dra- 

 pery of withered grass. In each case the mother-bird did not 

 fly away till I almost stepped on the nest, when she quickly 

 disappeared, in perfect sih^nce. One nest contained four, and 

 the other five eggs, rather smaller than a snowflake's, and of a 

 rich, gray-brown color, with deep shades of brown running 

 over them in spots and sufl'used lines. 



''Thesenests were not discovered until the Tthof July, at which 

 date the eggs in both were perfectly fresh. They were, proba- 

 bly, not laid until about the end of June. The young appear 

 in the same manner as those of P. iiivaJis. The males do not 

 assume the distinctive coloration of their sex until the next 

 season. The natives say that very severe weather sometimes 

 drives these birds away, although the other Flectroplianes is 

 never forced to leave." 



22(). Corvus corax, L.— 7?«rf». " Var-rone." 



As noted in Mr. Elliott's general introduction, the experi- 

 ment of introducing ravens was unsuccessfully tried by the Rus- 

 sians. 



"The natives still claim that if a number of young birds were 

 brought here and raised, they could be induced to remain ui)on 

 the islands during the whole season ; that the failure to keep 

 those ravens brought up from Ounalashka, several years ago, 

 was due to the fact of their being old birds. 



"At Ounalashka there is a Greek Catholic church, with a 

 small cupola, surmountedj as is usual, by a large crucilix. tpon 



