BIEDS. 83 



tliere is a ranker growtli of willows. The stomachs of those I examined 

 of this species contained willow buds and small twigs. From aSTugu- 

 meute southward and westward in the interior they are abundant 

 according" to the Eskimo stories, but which species is of course impossi- 

 ble to say. They begin to change color as soon as the snow commences 

 ro melt, in lat. G7° N. about the middle of May. This change in plum- 

 age is more tardy as one goes farther north. I was informed by intelli- 

 gent Greenlanders that north of Upernavik, near the glacier, they had 

 found ptarmigans nesting, and that the male was in perfect winter plum- 

 age. This was probably L. rupestris. If this be true, it is possible that 

 in sections where much snow remains during the summer the change is 

 very late, or, perhaps, does not occur at all. 



27. Lagopus rupestris, (Gmel.) Le.icli. 



''Akagik," Cumberland Eslvimo. "Akeiksek," Greenlanders. 

 I am unable to throw any light on the distribution of these birds in 

 Cumberland, as I was unable to i^rocure but a single specimen of this 

 species and two of the preceding. The crop was crammed full of sphag- 

 num moss. 



28. .SIgialitis semipalmata, (Bp. ) Cab*. 



"Koodlukka'leak," Cumberland Eskimo, 

 Arrived at Annanactook about the middle of June. By no means 

 rare. Breeds on the mossy banks of fresh-water ponds along both the 

 Kingwah Fjords, as well as other localities in Cumberland. It seems 

 remarkable that the Cumberland Eskimo should discriminate between 

 this and the following species, when they confound all the larger gulls 

 under one name. They told me that JE. hiaticiila was larger, flew 

 faster, and had a stronger voice than semipalmatus ! ! All of which is 

 true. The condition of the ice at the time these birds were nesting 

 kept me from visiting their breeding-grounds, although but a few miles 

 away. They migrate southward as soon as the fresh water is frozen. 



29. ^gialitis hiaticula, (L.) 



" Tukagvajok," Greenlanders. 

 I am not aware that this species has hitherto been introduced into the 

 North American fauna, though long known as a common bird on the 

 Greenland coast, where ^. semipalmata is rare. It is apparently more 

 common than the preceding in Cumberland. Arrives about the same 

 time, and breeds in similar localities. Very common about Disko Island, 

 Greenland, where young bh-ds were procured. This bird is readily 

 distinguishable from ^. semipalmata by its greater size and more 



