180 ALASKA. 



as Xortli American. We have made the comparison with 

 numerous examples before us from various Asiatic and Pacific 

 localities, finding the present specimen indistinguishable. 

 Length, about 9.50; wing, G.40; tail, 2.60; tarsus, l.GO ; middle 

 toe and claw, 1.10; culmen, .95. There is a yellowish suffusion 

 about the head, particularly along the superciliary line, which 

 is hardly to be noticed in the ordinary ZS^orth American bird. 

 The specimen was taken on Saint PauFs, May 2, 1873. "A few 

 stragglers laud in April, or early in May, on their way north to 

 breed, but never remain long. They return in greater number 

 in the latter part of September, and grow fat upon the larvae 

 generated on the killing-grounds, leaving for the south by the 

 end of October.^' 



40G. I§trcpsilas interpret, Ij.— Turnstone. " Krass-uie Ko-lit-skie.'^ 



The numerous specimens all alike indicate an interesting 

 approach to the peculiar features of var. melanocephalus, in the 

 extent and intensity of the black areas on the head, neck, and 

 back. The chestnut, in fact, is reduced mainly to a scapular 

 patch, some edging of the feathers of the interscapular region, 

 and a diffuse area on the wing-coverts. The upper i^arts of the 

 body are otherwise black, relieved by the broad, pure white 

 area of the lower back and rump, and varied with white on the 

 crown and cervix. The front, sides of head and neck, throat, 

 and entire breast are intense black, relieved by loral, gular, 

 auricular, and latero-cervical white areas. 



'• The turnstone arrives in flocks of thousands about the third 

 week in July, and takes its departure about the 10th of Sep- 

 tember. It does not breed here. On its arrival it is quite poor 

 in flesh, but, feeding upon the larv?e and maggots of the killing- 

 grounds, it rapidly gains, and at length becomes extraordinarily 

 fat — so fat that frequently it bursts open as it falls to the ground 

 w^hen shot on wing. 



'' It is a very handsome bird when in full plumage, with its 

 bright-red legs, snowy, black-banded breast, and back tinged 

 with brown and green reflections. Its well-known curious 

 actions, in pursuit of its ordinary food, have given it its name. 

 I met with it at sea, eight hundred miles from the nearest land, 

 flying northwest toward the Aleutian Islands." 



410. L.obi|>0«i liyperbol'CtIS, (L.,) Cuv.—Xorthcm PhaJaropc. 



The e*^g of this species, not yet generally well known, pre- 

 sents the following characters, taken from the unparalleled 



