FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 105 



Kodiak to Attu ; the best evidence of nesting comes from Kodiak 

 Island; and (possibly) it nests on Attu Island. We know that 

 it is an inland form — more so than M. serrator. 



Mergus serrator: Red-breasted Merganser 

 Mergus serrator serrator 



Attu : Criich-ah'-lich 

 Atka: A-ga-lai-ahh 



Agldyax (given by Jochelson as applying to two species) 

 Russian, Commander Islands: Krakhal (Stejneger) (The Attu name is 

 undoubtedly a corruption of the Russian.) 



This is the commoner merganser of the Aleutian district. It 

 breeds on Kodiak Island (Friedmann, 1935) , and Cahalane (1943) 

 found it generally very abundant in the Kodiak- Afognak group in 

 1940. He also observed it in various places in the Katmai region, 

 where Hine (1919) also reported it to be common. 



Osgood (1904) found it "exceedingly abundant on all the lakes 

 and rivers" visited at the base of Alaska Peninsula, and he 

 mentions seeing broods of young on Iliamna, Chulitna, Kakhtul, 

 and Nushagak Rivers. He remarks, "From start to finish probably 

 more mergansers were seen than any other species of water 

 bird, with the exception of the large gulls." 



Gabrielson also noted this duck in 1940 on the rivers tributary 

 to Bristol Bay. There were at least 50 broods of young, in all 

 ages, on the Kvichak River, July 23. 



This merganser was reported as common at Chignik, and 

 Jaques (1930) found it paired on King Salmon Creek, near Port 

 Moller after June 11, "possibly breeding." 



On May 26, 1936, we saw two females in Nushagak River at 

 Snag Point, and a pair was seen back on the marshes among the 

 lakes near Ugashik River, where they probably nest. 



In 1925, I found this merganser nesting about Izembek Bay, 

 and, on May 25, 1925, 4 were seen on a mountain stream below 

 Aghileen Pinnacles. (On May 4, and on several subsequent days, 

 red-breasted mergansers were noted at Urilia Bay, on Unimak 

 Island.) On July 5, a nest with six eggs was found on a small 

 island near Point Grant, and another nest was found on a little 

 island far out in Izembek Bay, in the midst of a colony of 

 glacous-winged gulls. Red-breasted mergansers with molting wing 

 feathers were seen late in July. 



Chase Littlejohn, in 1887-88, said that this duck breeds at 

 Sanak and at Morzhovoi Bay, where they remained all winter. 



McGregor (1906) found three nests on Round Island, Beaver 

 Inlet, Unalaska Island, July 4, 1901. On June 3, 1936, we saw 



