J^»ll{|)S OF ALASKA, WITH A PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ALASKAN 

 ORNITHOLOGY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Ill view of tlio fact that the aiitbor's personal observations covered a large portion of the 

 Territory, this report has been (extended to include all the species of birds known to occur within 

 Alaska. In additi' n to the territory i)erson.illy visited, as detailed in the accompanying narrative, 

 1 received from one of the fur traders, Mr. L. N. McQuesten, about two hundred bird-skins collected 

 along the valley of tiie Yukon, between the mouth of the Tanana River and the point where the 

 Yukon crosses the British boiitidary line. By teachiug intelligent natives how to prepare bird- 

 skins, I also secured various specimens from the course of the Yukon below the Tauaua and from 

 the Kotzebue Sound i egion. The eollectiou gathered by me amounted in all to over two thousand 

 bird-skins and lifteen hundred eggs. To complete the report 1 have made free use of the skins 

 contained in the Smithsonian collections, obtained by other collectors in Alaska, and the literature 

 on that region has yielded many notes and facts of interest. The author's aim has been so tar as 

 lK)ssil)Ie to eiiihody herein all of importance that is known concerning the birds of Alaska, but for 

 unavoidnhlc causes he has been compelled to curtail that portion relating to the swimming birds 

 ,sidtsc(|iu'nt to tlie ducks and geese. To explain a lack of information concerning some species 

 found, e\('ii in the districts best known to me, I may state that zoological work was done in hours 

 snatched from (confining official duties, or when relieved of those for a time by the co-operation of 

 the fur com])any's agents, who frequently attended to my meteorological work for a day or two at 

 a time in addition to occasional longer periods. An absence on my'part, liowever, always entailed 

 extra work upon my return. The moiitli of June is the most favorable time for ornithological 

 work in tins north, but this is the season when our annual mail arrived, and the closing of the 

 nflicial icconls lor tlie preceding year made it difficult to gain time for outside work. 



I'.itwii'M -Tune 17, 1S77, and June, llS.Sl, my time was passed at Saint Michaels or in exploring 

 Mil' sill rounding region. For the oijiithologist Miis is a rich held, and the varied attractions of sea 

 and shore draw a. great variety of species. Tliis abuinlance of l)inls, however, is a cliaracteristic 

 feature during summer in high northern hilitmkis. Nordenskiold has well remarked tjiatit is not 

 the larger animal forms, such as the seals, wliales, and walrus, that first draw the attention of the 

 voyager in Arctic seas, but the innumerable flocks of birds which swarm in the polar latitudes during 

 the long summer day of the north. Around all of tlie rocky islands of Bering Sea and Straits 

 th(( auks, gidls, and fulmars fill the air and cover the sea in myriads. Tljis was also the case on 

 Wiangel and Herald Islands, in the Arctic, which are perpetually inclosed by theice-pack. These 

 islands all reminded me of huge bee hives, only the bees perpetually swarming about them are in 

 the shape of birds. If one stands on the beach under one of the bird clilTs and looks up to%var(l 

 the-skyhe soon feels giddy, from gazing at the circling throng. 



The work of a naturalist in the north is one of almost continual hardship, yet the succession 

 of novel experiences lends a peculiar zest to such a life. Many of the most enjoyable days of ray 

 life were passed on expeditions in which it was a constant struggle to obtain the bare necessities 



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