BIRDS. 139 



still left ou the fore neck and the upper surface ; tail black with an inilist inot white edge to the tipH of the feathers, 

 and the outer rectrices white at the base for a very sliort distaiico. Wiiig, 200""'"; tail-feathers, 117""; bill from 

 nostrils, ll""!; tarsus, 3i""" ; middle toe with claw, 35""". 



First primary shorter than sixth ; second longer than iifth and shorter than third and fourth, which are longest. 



The adult female does not differ materially from typical Lagopue nq>cstris in corresponding plumage. 



The designations of the colors in the above description refer to Mr. Kidgway's "Xomenclature of Colors." 



Lagopus kupestrls atkoexsis (Tuinci). TuniL'i'.s rtarmigan. 



Among the spcciineu.s secured by Mr. L. M. Turner, during lii.s residence in the .Aleutian 

 Islands, are two Ptarmigans, which, upon examination, ])rove to represent a well-marked geo- 

 graphical race of rupestrls. His specimens were secured June 7 and May 29 upon Atka Island, at 

 the extreme western end of the Aleutian chain. They are found upon this island and undoubtedly 

 also upon those adjoining. As compared with my specimens from Unalaska the bill of tliis bird 

 is considerably broader at the base, and is somewhat longer and slenderer. In addition to this, 

 a striking difference is the very much lighter color of the western bird, which has a predominance of 

 ashy-gray and pale yellow. The dark rusty or buffy-brown seen in the Uualaskau bird is re- 

 placed by a pale yellow on the western variety, and the general shade of color is grayish in place 

 of brownish. The female of the Atka bird is more finely marked, as a rule, and has much less 

 of the grayish and buflfy vermiculation which is exhibited by the bird from Unalaska. It is 

 undoubtedly to tliis race Mr. Dall refers in his contribution to the ornithology of the western end 

 of the Aleutian chain, when he speaks of finding nine much-incubated eggs, on June 21, at Attn 

 Island, and chicks which were hatched at Kyska, July S.* 



PEDIOC.T3TES PHAGIANELLUS (Llnu.). Sharp-tailcd Grou.se. 



This grouse is given by Dall as a not uncommon species at Fort Yukon and for 200 miles lower 

 down this river to the Ramparts, below which place it is not found. It may be called a bird of 

 Eastern Alaska, being limited to that portion of the Territory bordering on the Briti.sh pos.sessions. 

 Its nest was found by Mr. Kennicott near Fort Yukon at the foot of a clump of dwarf willows, 

 with scattered spruces and othev trees growing about. Other nests were afterwards found in sim- 

 ilar locations. The structure resembles that of the common prairie hen. The record of this bird 

 from Fort Yukon places its nesting range within the Arctic Circle, but how much beyond this 

 point it occurs to the north remains to be seen when future and more extended observations 

 are carried on in that region. Eichardson found this grouse along the Mackenzie to the delta of 

 that stream in about latitude 69'=, and it may occur to that point in the adjoining portion of 

 Alaska. 



Circus hudsonius (Linn.). Marsh Hawk (Esk. JN7l/,7i-^7-A«-?«7,). 



Tliese hawks are numerous throughout Northern Alaska during the migrations. It is seen fre- 

 quently along the barren coast of Bering Sea, and has been recorded as rather uncommou in the 

 interior. It is a rare summer visitor to the Near Islands. It has been taken in Northeastern Sibe- 

 ria, and is found ou the mainland throughout Arctic North America. It breeds on the Lower An- 

 derson and other northern rivers, and is one of the regular aiul common birds of prey in these 

 regions. The Marsh Hawks arrive later and depart earlier from the coast of Northern Alaska than 

 they do from the interior of the British fur countries. The last of May, 1879, it was common at 

 the Yukon mouth, and on May G a specimen was secured by Mr. McQiiesten at Fort Reliance, on 

 the upper part of this river. In autumn, from the middle of August until the end of September, 

 is the time of its greatest abundance, although it sometimes remains until November, according to 

 Mr. Dall. It is also seen frequently from the middle of May until the first of June. 



While I was at the Yukon mouth, on May 19, 1879, a pair of hawks was seen repeatedly 

 crossing the river ou different days at a certain point, the leader always performing, as he went, a 

 succession of curious antics; it would turn over and over a half dozen times in succession like 



*Lagopiis leucurus has been killed in British America, at Fort Halkett, on Liard's River, in latitude 03- north, so 

 close to the Alaskan boundary that it seems almost certain this species is to be found within tlie limits of Alaska. 



