BIEDS. 67 



seveuty-five birds in spring, and during the entire summer it is a common occurrence to start np 

 a party of from five to ten or more. In the brackish ponds and tide creeks of the marshes they 

 find an abundance of food in the myriads of sticklebacks which swarm in these waters. 



As fall approaches, early in September, the stray parties commence to unite into flocks of 

 from a dozen to nearly one hundred, and are found everywhere from the sea-coast np to the bases 

 of the mountains back of the marshes. They are not shy, and fly in compact flocks, which a single 

 discharge will often decimate. They remain late, being found until the 10th of October, unless 

 the season is early. 



The first of August, one season, I surprised a female with young only a few days old in a pond 

 not over 25 yards in diameter, near Saint Michaels. The pond was bordered by smooth muddy 

 banks, and there was not the slightest chance for concealment, so the old bird marshalled her 

 brood to the farther side of the pond, as I drew near, uttering frequently a low, distinct, but 

 husky, kha-kha-kha. Desiring the young I fired some five or six shots until several were killed, 

 yet, meanwhile, the distressed parent showed not the slightest care for her own safety, but after 

 each shot swam uneasily to and fro among her young, uttering her call, and trying to urge them 

 to gather about her. She was so absorbed in her maternal feelings that she did not heed me in 

 the slightest, even when I advanced to the water's edge and splashed the water and shouted. 

 Throughout the interior of the Territory, except in the most mountainous districts, this is a common 

 summer resident. 



LopHODYTES cucULLATUS (Liun.). Hooded Merganser. 



This species is introduced here on the authority of Dr. Bannister, who states that he saw a 

 flock at Saint Michaels in October, 1805, and shot one, but the lack of a boat prevented the speci- 

 men being secured. 



Anas boschas Liun. Mallard (Esk. Vk-shukpf'}^ or lu-giiMpul;). 



This is one of the least common of the ducks found on the Alaskan shore of Bering Sea. A 

 few were noted during the migration on the Xear Islands, and it breeds on the Commander Islands. 

 At Unalaska, in the Aleutian Islands, I saw a single specimen, a male, in a fresh-water pond on 

 May 19, 1877. Mr. Dall does not mention this among the species found by him west of Unalaska 

 in these islands, but notes it as one of the most abundant winter residents at Unalaska, where it 

 is numerous by October 12, and remains until April and May. 



Mr. Elliott found them as occasional visitors on the Fur Seal Islands, and notes a pair which 

 reared their young on Saint Paul Island during the season of 1872. In the interior, on the main- 

 land, the Mallard is a common, and in some places abundant, summer resident. Dall found them 

 among the first ducks to arrive at Nulato, on the Yukon, in spring, generally coming about the 

 1st of May with the "Butter-ball." 



This naturalist found a set of eight eggs of the Mallard laid on the rotten wood in the hollow 

 top of a stump about 6 inches from the ground. They were concealed under a layer of leaves and 

 feathers. They are more numerous in suitable districts higher up the Yukon than on the lower 

 part of its course. 



Bischoflf found them at Sitka, and I found them breeding within the Arctic Circle along the 

 north shore of Kotzebue Sound in 1881. 



In the vicinity of Saint Michaels they usually arrive from the 10th to the 15th of May, and 

 remain until the last of September, and sometimes until the first few days of October. They are 

 never common on the marshes in this district nor on the lower part of the Yukon delta, although 

 they are generally distributed, and breed wherever found. 



I rarely hunted a day on these marshes, however, without hearing the loud, familiar note of 

 this bird. The Indians and Eskimo save the bright green scalps of the males for ornamenting 

 clothing or for making small work-bags and pouches. 



Anas penelope Linn. Widgeon. 



During two years spent upon the Fur Seal Islands in Bering Sea, Mr. Elliott obtained or saw 

 a few individuals of this species. They were never in pairs, and the few seen were supi^osed to be 



