58 NATUi!AL UISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



While I was securing my prizes the birds hovered overhead in great anxiety, although they 

 rarely uttered their grating cry, and in the very few instances when a bird darted down at us it 

 was in perfect silence. While we were on the island several Glaucous Gulls and Jaegers passed 

 by, and in every case they were attacked by several of the Xeuias and driven hastily away. Two 

 uests had been despoiled either by these birds or a luuskrat, as the broken shells showed. Wheu 

 the eggs were secured a large and fine lot of the gulls were obtained, and we then made our way 

 back to camp heavily laden with spoils. Solitary nests were afterwards found either on islands 

 like the last or on the border of a pond. In one instance the female left her eggs wheu I was 

 over 100 yards away and flew directly away until she was lost to sight. 



Sterna tschegrava Lepech. Caspian Tern (Esk. Tu.-'kUth-lot-yukli-iml;). 



This great Tern occurs as an occasional visitant to the coast of Bering Sea, from the Yukon 

 mouth to Saint Michaels at least, and is undoubtedly found still more frequently south to the 

 known haunts of the species along the Pacific coast. It is well known to the Eskimo in the 

 vicinity, who call it by the same name as they do the Arctic Tern, simply adding a sufidx meaning 

 " the big." Several were seen during my residence both at Saint Michaels and the Yukon mouth, 

 but none were obtained. These birds occur also along the east coast of Asia, and are found iu 

 India iu winter. 



Sterna paradis^a Briinn. Arctic Tern (Esk. Tii-kUth-lcohijuk). 



Throughout all Northern Alaska, both on the coast and in the interior, the Arctic Tern is an 

 abundant summer resident, breeding wherever found. Near Saint Michaels they arrive about the 

 same time as Sabine's Gull, the first arrival noted being on May 10, but the main body of the 

 birds come between the 15th and 25th of this month, wheu the ponds and streams ou the coast 

 open. By the latter date they are common, but the first eggs are not laid till about the 5th 

 of June, though the date varies with the season. One set was found ou the island, close to the 

 uests of the Sabine's Gulls, ou June 13, and but for the difference between the eggs could not 

 have been separated from those of the latter. The young are rarely on the wing before July 20, 

 and I have secured both fresh eggs and downy young the 29th of July. 



The last of August aud during September these terns seek the coast and mouths of streams, 

 and become rather scarce about their breeding grounds, and by the 20th of September very few 

 are to be found, although single individuals are sometimes seen until the 1st of October. 



When these terns first arrive the ground is still jiartly covered with snow and the birds keep 

 iu flocks of various size. When the snow disappears the flocks break up and they breed iu scat- 

 tered pairs. On June 12 I found a nest upon a small wet islet in a pond. The islet was cov- 

 ered with short grass, and my attention was drawn to the spot from seeing the ijarents continually 

 attacking the passing gulls and jaegers. When I drew near they swooped at me and circled about 

 without a cry until both were shot. The nest was lined with a few dry grass stems and contained 

 two eggs, and the female bore another ready to deposit. Another nest similarly situated was lined 

 with material procured withiu a few feet, aud the ground was turned up iu small spots all about 

 where the birds had uprooted the grass, many small bunches of grass being half uprooted aud 

 left, the task proving too heavy. 



The middle of August the young are very common on the marshes, and follow an intruder 

 about from jilace to i^lace, uttering an odd squeaky imitation of the notes of the adult birds. 

 They heedlessly hover close overhead, aud the expression of innocent wonder in their soft black 

 eyes makes them amusing little creatures to watch. 



Toward the end of August the young have a dark hazel iris; feet and legs varying from dull 

 oi\inge-reddisli to dingy orange-yellow. Bill dark horu color at tip aud along culmen ; basal half 

 under nai'es dull orange-red or dull lake; gape orange. Some specimens have the bill nearly all 

 blackish horn color. 



On the Aleutian Islands Dall found these birds abundant aud breeding on the Shumagins 

 and at Amchitka. It occurs ou Saint Lawrence and Saint Matthew's Islands, where it breeds, and 

 although not mentioned by Elliott as occurring on the Fur Seal group it must occur there iu the 

 migrations, at least. 



