36 IS^ATUHAL HISTORY COLLEGTIOXi3 IN ALASKA. 



Thoir eggs are deposited ou some islet iu a secluded poiul, and the youug are leil to a stream or 

 to tbo coast as soon as they are able to follow the parent. In autumn the larger streams and 

 bodies of water are tlieir resorts, and tliey are rarely seen after the first of October. The skins of 

 this bird are used by the natives in their bird-skin clothing, and are especially prized for tool-bags. 

 Tlie skin is removed, and the holes left by cutting off the head, wings, and legs are sewed up, and 

 a slit made down the back as a mouth to the bag thus formed. The border of this orifice is com- 

 monly edged with a band of seal-skin provided with holes, by meaus of which the mouth is laced 

 together. 



Throughout the interior of the Territory this bird is a common summer resident, and was found 

 breeding abundantly at the western extremity of the Aleutian Islands by Dall. As the same 

 author found one in the eastern end of the chain ou September 2 it may be safely asserted that the 

 species is found throughout the chain. The. Eskimo brought me a number of skins from Kotzebue 

 Sound and Selawik Lake, and their skins were found among the natives wherever I went, so that 

 their distribution may be given as covering the entire Territory. 



Urinator adamsii (Gray). Yellow-billed Loon. 



This fine species, the largest and least known of the Loons, is a not rare summer resident in 

 certain localities about the head of Kotzebue Sound. At Point Barrow this species is rather com- 

 mon: Mr. Murdoch states that they were not often noticed during the season of 1SS2, but iu 1883 

 they were fairly abundant. They were first seen by him the last of IMay and first of June in the 

 open "lead" offshore and flying thence inland. Later in the season they were found about open- 

 ings in the ice along shore and iu the adjacent lagoons, moving offshore, however, with the ice. 

 These birds were generally silent, but he noted that their "laugh" was harsher than that of the 

 Great Northern Loon. On the Commander Islands Stejneger took one specimsn and saw another". 



During my residence at Saint Michaels si^ecimens were brought me by the Eskimo from there, 

 and parts of the skins of quite a number of others were seen or obtained from the same region. 

 All the natives from there seemed to bo perfectly familiar with the bird, and assured me that 

 they nest every summer iu about equal numbers with torquatus, even outnumbering the latter in 

 some places. Selawik Lake and the Kunguk River were the places that all seemed to claim as the 

 points of greatest abundance. The shore of Norton Bay is a breeding ground for a few pairs, as 

 is the low coast of Bering Straits from Golovina Bay to Port Clarence. During a sledge journey 

 along this coast fragments of the skin were seen, usually comprising the skin of the neck divided 

 and with the beak in front, and thus fastened as a fillet about the head, the long white beak pro- 

 jecting from the wearer's brow. Fillets made of this bird's skin iu the same manner are commonly 

 msec! by the natives of the coast just named and about Kotzebue Sound. They are worn during 

 certain religious dances held in winter, and are esteemed highly by the natives from some occult 

 power they are supposed to possess. On October 14 the only specimen secured by me at Saint 

 Michaels was brought in by a native. It was in company with a mate, but the latter escaped. It 

 measured 30 inches iu length by 55 inches in extent, and had a dark hazel iris. The type of this 

 species was secured on the Alaskan side of Bering Straits by Dr. Adams, of the British Navy, 

 during the search for Sir. John Franklin, and since that time, beyond the fact that the bird ranges 

 over most of the northern circumpolar mainlands, little has been added to its history. From the 

 comparisons I have made between my Alaskan specimens of adamsii and imber, the decision of Mr. 

 Ridgway iu recognizing the specific rank of the former appears to be justified. This species was 

 first described in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for 1859, ou page 167. 



Urinator arcticus (Linn.) Black- throated Loon (Esk. Tun-u-chlih). 



This Loon is very common all along the American shore of the sea and about Kotzebue Sound. 

 They are also numerous on the large streams and marshes of the interior, and their eggs have been 

 taken at Fort Yukon. While Mr. Elliott resided upon the Fur Sea Islands a single specimen of 

 this bird was found dead upon the beach by the natives, who were not familiar with the species. 

 The skins of these birds, as of other heavily-plumaged water-fowl, are much used by the natives 



