FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 61 



and we learned that about 20 had been killed there the previous 

 winter. 



We also found swan wings on Semisopochnoi Island, thus show- 

 ing that some had been killed there in winter by native fox 

 trappers. Friedmann (1937) found four swan bones in midden 

 material from Little Kiska. 



The native chief on Attu Island assured us that swans winter 

 abundantly among the lakes on the south side of that island, 

 occurring in flocks of "eight, ten, to twenty-six." In 1924, the 

 swans were said to have walked among the houses of the village, 

 and, in 1932, "hundreds and hundreds" were seen among the 

 lakes on the south side. Now, they occur only in small numbers. 

 According to the natives, the swans arrive at Attu Island late 

 in October, and they leave late in April. 



Mortali+y Factors 



It is probable that man has been the greatest enemy of the 

 swan, for, under ordinary circumstances, the swan probably 

 is able to protect itself against natural enemies. A trapper at 

 Port Moller, on the Alaska Peninsula, told me that he had 

 seen a swan defend itself against a red fox, and he doubted 

 whether foxes were much of a hazard. 



Olor buccinator: Trumpeter Swan 



Quoting Friedmann (1937) on Kodiak Island: "A synsacrum 

 and 2 tarsometatarsi were found in the superficial levels and 

 another tarsometatarsus in the intermediate depths in 1935 ; in 

 1936 a metacarpal and the head of a humerus were collected." 



There are no other records. 



Branta canadensis: Canada Goose 



Branta canadensis leucopareia 

 Branta canadensis minima 



Attu: Legch 



Atka: Luck or lug-ach, or lagix (Jochelson) 



Resident whites: land geese 



The white-cheeked geese were formerly common migrants 

 throughout the Aleutian Islands area and nested on many of 

 the islands. These populations now (1936, 1937, and 1938) have 

 been universally reduced. 



The forms of the white-cheeked groups of geese that nest in 

 the Aleutian district is a question that has led to endless confusion. 

 Our latest findings show that leucopareia and minima are so in- 

 extricably associated throughout the Aleutians that it is desir- 



