206 NATURAL niSTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



from the vicinity of Saint Michaels, where it was found abundant during the summer of 1SGG--C7. 

 It was previously observed by Dr. Adams, of the English navy, during the summer of 1851 ; but 

 this observation was not made public until recently. The original specimen from Alaska was 

 forwarded to Mr. Tristram, who stated that "the specimen with a white superciliary stiipe was 

 identical with forms in breeding plumage from the Atlas, Palestine, and Lapland." 



In Alaska I found this bird along the coast as ftir south as the Yukon mouth, where it arrived 

 May 1'8, 1879, but was extremely rare. Specimens have been taken since by Mr. McKay as far 

 south as the head of Bristol Bay, and it was noted as a late summer visitor on the Near Islands 

 by Turner. Saint Michaels, on Norton Sound, appears to be the center of its abundance on our 

 coast and thence nortli it becomes rarer, until at Kotzebue Sound it is, as at the Y^ukon mouth, 

 very rare. I saw but two or three specimens at difiereut points on the shore of Kotzebue Sound 

 during our visits there in the summer of 1881, the farthest northern record being just on the Arctic 

 Circle. In Eastern Siberia it is an abundant species and is found along the entire Bering Sea 

 coast, wherever suitable localities are found, extending its range to Saint Matthews and Saint 

 Lawrence Islands ; East Cape, Plover Bay, and various other localities on the Siberian coast are 

 well-known points of occurrence. 



In the vicinity of Saint Michaels it is one of the most familiar and common laud birds, and as 

 one walks over the open tundra its familiar clinking, metallic note strikes pleasantly on the 

 ear. It usually has a preference for the boggy, moss-grown portions of the country, and upon its 

 first arrival appears rather sliy. Even during the breeding season they are ever on the alert, and 

 t^'e approach of a stranger to their haunts is sure to bring several of them from bush or flat to 

 protest against the right of way. They may be distinguished, while yet far away, by their long, 

 easy, swinging flight, undulating in their cour.se like Sjnmis trisfis, or a Woodpecker; drawing 

 near; they circle slowly overhead, constantly uttering the sharp pUpU-ple, or alighting for a mo- 

 ment upon a small bush or hummock, flirting their tails and moving restlessly about, apparently 

 consumed with nervous impatience, and scarcely have they touched the ground ere they are again 

 on the wing. A gunshot or two, however, is enough to send them to a safe distance, even though 

 their nest be near by, although occasionally they show great recklessness and are as heedless of 

 danger as most other breeding birds. 



Their nests are usually placed under the edge of a tussock or slightly overhanging bank, bunch 

 of grass, or in fact of any similar shelter, under which they can partially or wholly conceal the 

 nest. Their i^reference, however, is for grassy borders of a rather steeply sloping bank, along the 

 brow of which they place their nests. As one walks over the grass-covered places frequented by 

 these birds, during the breeding season, he is likely to see a female flutter off her eggs at his feet, 

 and, flying away a few yards, alight and glide away, mouse-like, among the grass with such 

 rapidity that, unless closely watched, she quickly disappears. In some cases she will lie thus 

 concealed for some time, and at other times she joins the male at once and circles about overhead. 

 When the male pays his addresses to the female in spring a peculiar performance takes place, 

 somewhat like that of the Y'ellow Chat. The male starts up from a bank or clump of bushes, and, 

 rising for 20 or 30 yards at a sharp angle, suddenly stiffens and decurves his wings, at the 

 same time slowly spreading and elevating his tail nearly perpendicularly to his body, and in this 

 curious position he floats slowly down until within a foot or two of the ground, uttering a low, 

 clear and rapid medley of jingliuy notes which can only be compared to the sound made by lightly 

 rattling together the links of a siiKiU steel chain. This performance is very commonly executed 

 over a large snowbank, as if the bird appreciated the contrast afforded by such a background. 

 As he approaches the ground in his descent lie suddenly glides away to a neighboring bush or 

 knoll, whence he repeats the m.aneuver. 



They arrive in the vicinity of Saint Michaels from the 27th of May to the 3d of June. Usually 

 present in full numbers by the 5th of this latter month, and quickly pairing, they seek out their 

 nesting ground. In a very short time they have their complement of eggs. By the middle of 

 July the young are fledged, and soou small parties come about the houses and frequent the rocky 

 S(ia-shore, where they fin<l food in abundance. Many of the adults at tliis season gather about 

 patches of bushes and dry hill-sides. 



