FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 83 



Spatula clypeata: Shoveler 



Attu: Koo-chu-tuh or Koo-chu-thoh 



Eussian, Commander Islands: Soksan (Stejneger, 



The natives of Attu Island seemed to know this duck and had 

 a name for it — if their identification is correct. They recognized 

 a picture, agreed on the spoon-shaped beak, and claimed that the 

 shoveler nests on Attu Island. 



Stejneger (1887) considered it to be one of the rarer ducks on 

 Bering Island, but he thought that it breeds there — hence, it would 

 not be surprising to find it among the Near Islands. 



We did not find the shoveler in the Aleutians, but on May 29, 

 1936, a male was seen among some other ducks in a pond near 

 Ugashik River on the peninsula. Two specimens were taken by 

 McKay near Nushagak, on August 14, 1881, and on September 

 24, 1882. Cahalane (1944) records 1 bird seen by him, September 

 7, 1940, on Brooks River, and Gabrielson observed 2 at Morzhovoi 

 Bay, June 21, 1940 — the westernmost point for which we have 

 precise record. 



The shoveler is scarce in the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula, 

 and it is comparatively scarce on other parts of the Bering Sea 

 coast. The only place where we found them in considerable num- 

 bers was in the vicinity of Cordova, on the Copper River flats 

 near the mouth of Eyak River. There, on May 16 and 17, 1937, 

 we saw many of them engaged in courtship, evidently preparing 

 to nest. 



Aythya americana: Redhead 



Attu: Ka-ve im'-much 



The A. 0. U. Check-List states that the redhead is a casual 

 visitor on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and Friedmann (1935) men- 

 tions a specimen taken there by Rutter. 



On June 16, 1936, I had a glimpse of a pair of ducks, identified 

 as redheads, rising from a pond near the beach on Amukta Island. 

 Upon arrival at Attu, Chief Hodikoff declared that a few ducks 

 (like those in the picture of redheads that we showed him) nest 

 on Attu and remain in winter. He gave us the native name, Ka-ve 

 (head) im-much (round). He was certain of his identification. 



At the time, we were concerned only with the redhead, but be- 

 cause of its similarity to the pochard, which occurs on the Pribi- 

 lofs, it is possible that the Aleut chief was really referring to the 

 Old World species, Nyroca ferina, and conceivably the birds that 

 we noted on Amukta were also of that species. 



