118 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 61, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



of Alaska Peninsula all the way to the west end, and on Unimak 

 Island, numerous marshy areas with an abundance of mice and 

 birds may be found ; yet, this treeless region generally is avoided 

 by the marsh hawk. 



Family PANDIONIDAE 



Pandion haliaetus: Osprey 

 Pandion haliaetus carolinensis 



This bird has not been recorded from the Kodiak-Afognak 

 Islands, but Osgood (1904) reports it to be quite common on 

 nearly all watercourses that he has traveled, and he specifically 

 mentions the Nogheling, Chulitna, and Kakhtul Rivers — all these 

 are north of Lake Iliamna. 



Cahalane (1944) saw 2 American ospreys — 1 at Naknek River, 

 September 4, 1940, and the other at the outlet of Brooks Lake, 

 September 7. 



In 1940, Gabrielson saw 1 osprey at Wood River Lakes, July 

 18; he observed 1 at Brooks Lake, July 19, and he saw another 

 near the upper end of Iliamna Lake on July 25. 



There are no records of sighting the American osprey farther 

 west, but Stejneger (1885) said that it is an occasional visitor 

 in the Commander Islands and that is is very abundant in Kam- 

 chatka. This is another bird that does not venture out into the 

 treeless areas to nest. 



Family FALCONIDAE . 



Falco rusticolus: Gyrfalcon 

 Falco rusticolus uralensis 

 Attu: Kus-sum Ah'-ghu-lich 



The Attu chief described a bird larger than the peregrine 

 falcon, and gave us the above name. (If it were different from 

 the peregrine falcon, and larger, it could hardly be anything but 

 a gyrfalcon.) The chief declared that it nests and winters on 

 Attu Island. Austin Clark (Collins et al. 1945, p. 37) says 

 "Lieutenant Nelson, an experienced falconer, believes he saw 

 gyrfalcons on Kiska, though only one, in the white phase, was 

 identified with certainty." 



We did not identify this bird on any of our expeditions, nor 

 did Wetmore record it. Nelson (1887), using the name Falco 

 rusticolus gyrfalco, said that it was very common along the 

 Bering Sea coast, but less common in the Aleutian Islands. Swarth 



